Violet Haze
by Maximum Dusk
Summary: She lay in front of Yūko with tears running down her face, a glowing blue crown floating above her head. Only half an existence, one that was not a part of Hitsuzen. But maybe, this girl could end the cycle which always ends in tragedy. FaiXOC
1. Chapter 1: To break the Cycle

**A/N Hey guys, this is a fanfic I just decided to do. This is for fans of Tsubasa Chronicles (cause I love it), but if you've read my other stories and would like to try this, please do :P It also may contain references to other CLAMP manga's (since this is the CLAMP Universe…)**

**I do not own Tsubasa Chronicles, seriously, my mind is not that imaginative yet T_T**

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_"What is your name?" the woman with crimson eyes asked, staring down at the crying eight year-old girl lying before her. It was a misty evening with the glaring silver moon hanging high in the abysmal dark sky, a cold night without a wisp of heat, a chilling back-set to the tear-streaked girl with long straight black hair, pale skin and unnaturally violet eyes._

_The girl looked up and purple eyes met red. "I don't know. Where am I? I can't…" the young girl became confused, clawing at the top of her head where a floating blue crown glowed brightly like a halo._

_No emotion crossed the Dimension Witch's face as she watched the glowing crown hover above her raven hair, even as her own confusion began to set in. She had not predicted anyone to come this night, and now as she stared at the young child, she only realised further the implications of this girl's very existence. Or more so of what was left of her existence and the future she was now going to share with three strangers._

_Yūko sighed, and crouched down in her trailing black dress, her long midnight hair moving only slightly in the almost non-existent wind. "I am Yūko, the witch of Dimensions, as I have been called by many. You are here, so you must have a wish. All wishes have a price, and in order for a wish to be granted you must pay a price, however yours… has already been paid. Your small existence may just break this unending circle… and change hitsuzen. Your wish… I will grant it when _thattime_ comes"_

_"My wish?"_

_"Yes. But for now, how about a name?" Yūko asked the pale girl, twirling a piece of her long raven hair between her fingers in a playful manner, already losing her serious face._

_She stared at the child as if analysing her, even probing into her patchwork soul to discover something, anything that could lead her to this girl's name of power. _

_"How about Shizuko Kurami _(quiet/silent child-dark beauty)_?"_

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It was raining hard like hail, and the sky was a pearly grey mixed between the dark colours of the West and the hidden light of the sun in the Far East. I stared longingly at the sky, some part of it enchanting me, coaxing me, and the other repulsing me in a way similar to that of a child repulsed by the opposite gender. Outside in the open I stood with my dull, trailing purple cloak, the hood covering my face to keep my face and body dry from the rain.

I could feel it coming. _That time_ was near, and yet I could still not tell exactly when the time would come. _They _could appear within seconds, minutes, hours, and I wouldn't be able to detect them until they came down from the sky. I grabbed the thick silver hoop pierced into my ear. It was bold and small, with purple markings all over it. The earring paired with the black tattoo like markings on my back, magical seals to conceal my own half existence and the tell-tale signs of the floating blue crown on my head.

My earring chimed, and I sensed the fluttering aura of Yūko walking towards where I stood with a smirk on her face, the rain bouncing off of the air around her like she was encased in an invisible barrier. Through the past nine years I had stayed with Yūko, when she was drunk and difficult to control to when Watanuki started to work here to pay his price, my life solely consisted of memories of this shop. Yūko' s red eyes had watched my own as I learned of my half existence, watched as I was told that my future had already been decided by hitsuzen, watched as I paid the price of my any price willingly to learn how to fight and use part of the vast amount of potential power I myself possessed.

"They'll be coming soon" Yūko said conversationally, watching me as my violet eyes looked down from the sky to meet her own crimson gaze.

I nodded, a few loose strands of black hair falling out of my upturned hood as the wind blew in the background. I could feel the pattering of the dancing droplets enshroud my coat.

"You really don't change, do you Kurami?" She asked, a vague look taking over her ancient eyes as she seemed to be remembering something. A soft smile formed on her rosy lips, reflecting the sweetness of her fond memory.

I smiled wanly, knowing that she was correct. No matter how much time passed, I wore the same slim smile. I was as striking as the day we had met, and I seemed to fit my name pretty well. However… some things did change. There was once a time where I refused to smile, sometimes even refused to speak. Those first few weeks after appearing at the shop's doorstep were like a dream, it just didn't seem real. After awakening with no memories, I seemed almost like a ghost. I was hollow, I had no mind because my heart was broken and my memories lost. However, over time, I was able to create my own heart. I placed my shattered existence back together and gained a slightly sarcastic and hostile personality. This still may be viewed as a bad thing, but it is an improvement from the empty person I used to be. But there were still some days where I refused to speak, refused to let my thoughts be read.

It was on these days that I had to keep Mokona close and remind myself that Yūko and I weren't so different. Actually, there were many secret things we shared in common besides the colour of our hair. One stood apart from the rest.

"Are you prepared?" Yūko asked, eyeing my long musty purple traveling cloak, my black jumpsuit cinched at the waist and the short black boots on my feet. Her voice shook me from my thoughts, and my eyes refocused of the red eyed witch.

I nodded. "From now on, the future is blurred" I told Yūko, feeling the rain drip down the lose hem of my cloak.

Yūko smirked, the closest thing she could get to a smile at this point in time, and took my own pale hand. "Even so, we cannot let Fei–Wang Reed succeed in creating this cycle; we cannot let it keep repeating. You have trained enough to understand. Do not let the story scare the writer, lest the story run on its own"

Out of the sky, a blob fell, reflecting its surroundings and then splattering like water when it hit the earth, revealing a boy that was a year or so, perhaps more, younger than me with brown hair and a green cloak with goggles. In his arms, he clutched a lifeless girl with short auburn hair, dressed in purple and white.

"They're here" Yūko muttered to herself. Out from the shop, Maru and Moru came and stood beside the Dimension Witch.

"Are you the witch of dimensions?" the boy asked pleadingly, his brown eyes calculating and desperate.

"So I have been called" Yūko answered cryptically, her eyes watching closely as the boy fidgeted beneath her gaze, her eyes flaming red.

"Please… Please save Sakura!" He pleaded, his eyes glowing in amber. They reflected the fear and the panic in his soul, and it almost called to me even as no words left his lips.

"This child here is Sakura, you say", Yūko bent down as the boy nodded. "And yours is?"

"S-Syaoran" he answered. Yūko moved her hand to hover over the deathly-pale princess, letting a smooth sheen of glowing magic flow through her fingers to search the young girl.

"This child has lost something very important to her" She noted, letting a slim frown take form on her slim lips.

"Yes".

Yūko stood back up gracefully, letting the warm touch of magic ebb away into the rainy atmosphere. "That precious thing has shattered into shards and has scattered across many worlds, worlds you couldn't imagine. If this child stays like this, she will die". As the words left her rose lips, Syaoran unconsciously held Sakura tighter, a protective gesture. The desert Princess didn't move, didn't even feel. She looked too pale to be sleeping and her lips didn't quiver as she breathed.

At that moment, two more sky coloured blobs began to twist away from the misty grey clouds.

"Watanuki! Go to the safe. Kurami, go with him and get what I need"

I quickly dashed towards Watanuki, and pushed him in the right direction as we entered the ornate shop.

"Kurami-san, has _that time_ come?" He asked, keeping pace with me as I raced through the house and led him to the place where we would find what was needed.

I hesitantly nodded. Watanuki was unaware of the journey, but he had known for a long time that my wish would be granted at some point, and just by hearing Yūko's tone of voice, he had known it was time.

I found the right dusted safe, and expertly opened it to find two creatures that vaguely resembled rabbits. One was white with a red stone on its forehead, and the other black with a blue stone. I grabbed both by the ears and tossed them to Watanuki, jousting them from their slumber as I did so.

"W-what are these things?" Watanuki gasped, yelling as he did so. The Mokona's were looking at Watanuki strangely, having never met him previously.

"We don't have time" I grumbled, closing the safe with one flick of my hand as I grabbed the white Mokona again, and walked quickly out the door.

"Wahh~ Kurami-chan, how long have I been sleeping…?" The white Mokona asked tiredly, having just awoken from her dormant sleep. It had been a bit over a year since the Mokona's had fallen into their deep sleep, and now that the time had come, they had awoken.

I shook my head at her, telling her that there was no time.

Walking back through the labyrinthine maze of a shop, we found the opening again, and came back out into the rainy out-side world. I unconsciously gave the white Mokona to Yūko, and stood beside her again, perhaps a bit further away and vaguely noticing the long silver sword and phoenix like tattoo seal that Maru and Moru were holding as payment.

"You may all have different wishes, but your means are the same" Yūko was saying, introducing Mokona who enthusiastically introduced herself.

Through my over-shadowing hood, I carefully examined the two other travellers. One was tall and muscular, with short cropped black hair and a seriously pissed expression on his solemn face. His clothes looked like they had come straight out of a seinen manga, black with red accents in the design of warrior type clothing similar to that of a ninja in old Japan. The other, with piercing blue eyes and blonde hair was also tall but lacked the other man's muscle and instead looked lankier. He wore a furry white coat with complicated blue designs, something one would wear in a freezing place. He had a rather care-free look and was smiling, but deep in his eyes she could see a much more ugly feeling coiling deep beneath his skin, hiding just below the surface of his glassy eyes.

Yūko was deciding on the boy, Syaoran's price, and had decided it to be the relationship they shared, since it was the most important thing to him. Even if they found all of her memory shards, the place he had in them would always remain empty. Syaoran was struggling to find an answer.

"Fine! I WILL NOT LET SAKURA DIE"

"It is settled then" Yūko turned her vibrant gaze to me. "Your wish is to regain your memories from _the_ _time before_ and discover the reason behind it, right?" she asked playfully, even during work she savoured her last joke with me in person, something she would continue to do until death.

"Yes" I answered, my violet eyes shining. My earing and tattoo chimed to me in synchronisation, accepting my wish as easily as I had.

"Your price has already been payed, Kurami". The three boys were watching us in surprise as we conversed, especially the blonde who smiled and looked interested. Our eyes met for a moment.

"Very well, this wish will work so that in every new world where there is a memory fragment, you will receive one memory from _the_ _time before_. How does that sound?"

I nodded, and gave her one of my rare, slim smiles. She smirked back and let Mokona dance out of her hands. The five of us crowded together, and let Mokona take over.

"Mokona is ready to go~" the white creature giggled, opening its mouth wide and enveloping us in giant white wings. I watched as Syaoran held Sakura tighter, and the tall black one, Kurogane, scowl as we were sucked into Mokona's mouth. The last thing I saw was the blonde mage's cryptic blue eyes as I sailed into Mokona's open mouth, and everything turned to darkness as I was enveloped within the tug of the different worlds.

Yūko stood with Maru and Moru as the clouds began to part with their departure. Yūko sighed, and gazed calmly at the sky. She let one last withering smile cross her lips before she let them settle into a straight, firm, unreadable line. She hoped this wasn't a mistake; the consequences would shatter all of the worlds and cause chaos, the destruction of universal logic. No, it couldn't be a mistake. Kurami wasn't a mistake; _he _did not make such dire mistakes. Hitsuzen must set its course.

"I wish all of you the best on your journey. Maybe this time… the story will end happily…"

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**A/N Thanks for reading, and please review. If this came out similarly to another fic, I'm sorry, but there are so many that I may have subconsciously done so ~**

**Anyway, REVIEW. I need them to continue the story.**


	2. Chapter 2: Sakura's Feather

**A/N Sup. So, I got one review. It confused me. Were you saying it was good or bad? Either way, I really do need reviews for this or I won't spend my time writing it up. So please anyone who reads this, review. **

**I do not own Tsubasa Chronicles.**

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I woke up with a start, feeling rough, coarse solid ground beneath my aching body. I suppose travelling between worlds will take a while for my body to get used to. I shook my head, feeling a few back-washed strands of hair fall onto my face. What was that? A dream?The faint outline of a silver wolf-like creature imbedded itself into my brain like an afterimage.

"Puu~ Kurami-chan's awake! Awake!" I sat up quickly, watching as the small white ball of fur jumped up and down excitedly, and leaped into my arms. She snuggled, and her fur brushed against my pale skin. The fur was soft like downy feathers and as fine as slim fibres. I sighed, and rolled my eyes as I was once again reunited with the small rabbit like creature from my childhood.

"Mokona…" I grumbled, hating the childish honorific that would most likely stick, especially knowing Mokona. I was lying on concrete, and around me stood high rising buildings resembling the type seen in suburbs of Japan. There were sturdy bridges, bronze trees filled with leafy greens and off in the distance I could see the vague outline of other multi-coloured high risers. It was somewhat familiar, and I had a strong feeling that I had travelled here before. Was this the world I travelled to when I retrieved a price? It was so long ago that I couldn't remember, and I had only had the privilege of travelling between worlds once prior. Looking around, I noticed the smiling blonde mage was watching me with his intense blue eyes, whilst the guy in black simply nodded at my conscious state with a permanent scowl painted onto his firm features.

"So those two are still sleeping?" I asked, glancing anxiously at the boy clutching the girl in his arms as I sat up properly and let Mokona jump out of my arms to bounce over to the boys sleeping form.

As if to counteract my words, that instant he awoke.

"He's awake! He's awake!" Mokona squealed in his face. The shock on his face spoke multitudes, and before long Mokona was left no other choice than to relocate onto Fai so that the poor boy could grasp his bearings. Bright amber-brown eyes stared at us, each intern, warily. He was still probably shocked from all that had happened in the hours passed, so I didn't judge him when it took him a few moments to realise exactly what state we were in.

"Sakura!" He jumped, searching for the girl he still held as if she could simply just disappear. His eyebrows scrunched worryingly, and he turned to the sleeping girl at his side with the same look I had seen him use discreetly whilst at the shop. Though I had never experienced such a strong emotion, I could tell that she was the most important person to him. It was obvious by the way he held her with delicacy and how his eyes became gentler and yet more alert when merely glimpsing her.

"Ah, so you're awake… eh…" the fine blonde seemed lost, not knowing the boy's name.

"Syaoran" he answered, giving us a small smile.

"Syaoran-kun, and that's Sakura-chan right?" Syaoran nodded, "my name is a little long, so you can just call me Fai. That grumpy guy over there is Mr Black-"

"It's not Mr Black! Its Kurogane bastard!" the ninja yelled, getting angry and grabbing for his belt, forgetting that his long, Silver Dragon (his katana) had already been given to Yūko as a price.

"Waahh~ Kuro-tan is angry" Fai said in a teasing manner. I eyed him, watching his body language closely. He was acting far different from what I would have expected, with a lazy grin and teasing banter flooding out of his mouth like a tidal wave. But I could not be fooled; I knew his smile was fake. This man indeed was who he was destined to be.

Being the only face without a name, all three men turned their eyes to me questioningly. "And you are?"

I sighed, making sure to keep my hood low over my pale face. "I'm Shizuko Kurami"

"So Kurami-ko*, nee?" Fai smiled, cocking his head to the side and successfully pissing me off. It was as if his electric blue eyes were laughing at me in jest. (Ko is commonly put at the end of female names to make the name more feminine and if you read it, it would probably mean feminine dark beauty, whilst the mi at the end of the name would join to the ko and could mean 'miko' as in priestess or magic user) 

Before I even understood what I was doing, I had whacked the blonde magician over the head. I was actually somewhat proud with myself, and I smirked. Syaoran and Kurogane sweat-dropped, whilst Mokona clapped happily as if there were nothing wrong just like in the days we were together.

"Waah~ Kura-chan is mean" he complained, rubbing the back of his injured head. The scene looked rather comical with his long, white fuzzy winter cloak. It was so long that sometimes it looked like it had engulfed him completely. I stifled a laugh at the thought, reminding myself that I had to tread carefully. Perhapse it was bad to be distrustful, but being suspicious or cautious had never failed me before.

"I'm sorry, my arm just sub-consciously hits baka's* (idiot)"

Kurogane snorted.

"Where are we?" Syaoran asked observing our surroundings carefully as he combed the area for possible danger.

"Hey you! Get out of here now, it's dangerous!" A boy yelled, running in our direction. He wore a black school uniform and had short cropped dark hair and small beady black eyes. His features were unfamiliar, and his face accented facial structures similar and yet different from the Japanese people I had grown up viewing as they entered the shop.

"You have to get away now!"

"Eh? What's going on?" I asked, looking at him strangely as he panicked and walked up to us.

"Are you foreigners?" he asked, staring at our "strange" clothes. I couldn't blame him, from anyone else's point of view we would have looked like cosplayer's.

"You could say that" Fai answered, smiling his fake smile as if we were all playing a harmless game.

"That explains why you wouldn't know… ah! It's too late, the battle has already begun!" The boy, Masayoshi as he had called himself, once more panicked and ushered us behind some over-turned cars as two groups of people appeared at opposite ends of the long bridge we had been on. One of the groups was led by a pudgy man with a pink Mohawk, circular dark sunglasses and black clothing. They looked a lot like a gang, and in my opinion, a bunch of fools who abused their strength.

The other group all wore aviator goggles and scarves. Their attire was a lot more natural, and they seemed more, I don't know, _normal. _But I wasn't stupid enough to believe they were. Not this world. I couldn't tell what it was, but there was definitely something different about this world. I could sense waves of magic through the air, however week. But they did not have the same feeling as other magic; it was far too different, too foreign. So what is it that is causing the waves to roll in this world?

"I won't let you get away this, not this time! This is payback for the last battle!" The guy with the Mohawk yelled, urging his gang to raise their hands and prepare to attack.

"Bring it on" the other guy with goggles yelled. He had long dull, brown hair tied at the nape of his neck and calm, grey eyes. He raised his arm in a threatening way, signalling his men to follow.

His gang followed the man's actions and they too raised their arms to fight.

"Battle?" Kurogane asked, "How can they fight without weapons?"

Masayoshi-kun gave him a strange look. "Using their kudans, of course"

Both gangs began to fire blue and red burst of energy from their fists, aiming at the opposite end with the hope of hitting down an enemy. Kurogane watched intensely, his own soul being tempted to join in on the fight. He was a ninja from Nihon Country, and his strength was undeniable. Something flashed in his scarlet eyes, something dangerous, but he seemed to have pushed it down as his jaw relaxed.

"So that's a kudan, nee?" Fai said, looking at Syaoran for a second. He then proceeded to rummage (*cough* molest *cough*) Syaoran until he was able to retract his hands from the boys clothes, revealing a big white feather with a pink heart design on it.

"A feather…" Syaoran trailed off, staring in wonder at Fai.

"You must have grabbed onto it without noticing, Syaoran-kun, in an attempt to save her… right?"

Just staring at the feather made her dizzy. What's happening?I teetered, feeling my eyes slowly start to close. Before I could do anything, I had fallen, my body hitting the rough floor with a thud; as my mind began to go blank, save for the ever awaiting darkness that seemed to consume me.

I faintly heard the others call my name, and the battle raging, before my mind ran away on a wave, and left me empty as my mind began to fill with pictures, voices and sounds.

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"_Please let go… You're hurting me" A small girl with long black hair and violet eyes pleaded, as her arm was roughly held by a boy a few years older. _

"_Shut up…" he told her, shaking his long bronze hair into his eyes. He hung low, holding the girl tightly in his grasp as he angrily fumed beneath the curtain of his hair. The anger only masked the pain, and the sadness that he felt knowing what had to be done, what he had to do with his own hands. _

"_Loki-sama… Ouch! That hurts-"_

"_SHUT UP!" He yelled throwing the girl down to the ground. She was scared, a river of tears falling down her pale face. She felt broken just looking at him, and seeing the anger he had, all the sadness directed at her, she felt the urge to snap. _

"_You know what you did… Now, I have no choice!" He sounded pained, and he gritted his teeth, holding a platinum dagger in his hands. It shone even in the darkened room, and even though it was a weapon to kill, it looked beautiful to her. She knew that this sharp bade would be the end of her, but it was mesmerising and for the first time she had to fight to keep her frightened gaze on the young boy._

"_Loki… I'm sorry…" the girl whispered. She couldn't understand, but his pained expression made her heart drop with the feeling that she had hurt her most precious person…_

"_I… can't do anything… you failed, you know the price…" he mumbled, defeated, as he raised the dagger above his head. _

"_Please don't hate me..." Tears formed in his eyes now, two globes of deep green hue that were so familiar, and yet so alien. They glistened with his falling tears, and as they hit the floor they splattered away like diamonds. This would be their last goodbye. _

_In the small dark room, the girl smiled in understanding, as the metal dagger was swung down through her heart, and she felt her scarlet blood drip away like rubies as she fell to the ground, her mind bursting with pain, and yet she still looked up into her master's eyes. Her ruby blood joined the scattered teardrop diamonds on the floor._

"_Loki…"_

_She could only hear the violent cries of a torn child as her body became cold and her eyes finally closed._

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"Lo…ki…" I opened my eyes with the feeling droplets dripping down my face. The bitter taste of salt water met my lips where my tears had dripped to, reminding me of the bitterness of the dream. I was in a room which was tinted orange by the setting sun, its light flooding in from the open window behind my lying form.

"Ku-chan…" I turned, my face meeting the worried face of a certain manjuu bun. So I wasn't alone…

Behind Mokona, I saw the sleeping form of the young girl named Sakura.

"Did you have a bad dream?" Mokona asked, concerned as I sat up and quickly brushed away the tears that had formed whilst I slept.

"I think… It was a memory" I told Mokona, smiling faintly as I picked her up and hugged her to my chest.

"You didn't need to worry…"

"Waah, but Ku-chan was crying~" she pouted, hugging me back and giggling to lighten the mood.

"How did you know I was awake?" I asked her, looking at the door to make sure no one had entered yet.

"Puu~ It's one of Mokona Modoki's 108 secret abilities: Number 33- can sense when Kurami-chan's about to wake up!" The creature sang ecstatically, jumping in my arms before I released her so that she could jump about without me hitting her as part of my no-baka-policy.

"So I guess that only works with me then, huh…?"

"Ah, you're awake~" I heard Fai sing as he entered the room, followed by Kuro-tan, Syaoran and two other people. I sat there confused for a moment before I realised that I had met them before. Memories flooded back to me, and I found myself remembering the only time where I had previously ventured to another world. No wonder this country was so familiar, I had visited once to receive payment for Yūko a few years back.

I refocused, shoving all other thoughts of the past to the back of my head, and payed close attention to the two familiar people.

One was a man with spiky brown hair, tanned skin and a lazy smile. The other was a beautiful woman with straight black hair, a fringe that covered her forehead, and brown eyes.

"Ah, we meet again Shizuko-san!" the man, Arisugawa Sorata, beamed. He gave her a giant grin and waved to his wife, "and you've met my lovely honey Arashi, right?"

I kept my face blank and nodded, trying not to wince as I remembered the first time we had met. Landing in the middle of their dinner table really wasn't a fond memory. Especially since I returned to the shop with a few food stains, which in the end caused a lot of problems for us. Things are bound to go wrong the first time you use a washing machine without instructions.

I then listened as he went on about how wonderful his wife was as a miko priestess, explaining the reason why they had known they were coming. They also described how they still owed Yūko for what she had done for them. At that moment, I seriously wanted to tell them how much they owed _me _for having to deal with their wish and their price as Yūko got drunk. She really was no help when the washer exploded. Of course, at that time she was drunk. She was the hardest person to deal with when drunk and the only person who knew how to deal with her better in this state was Watanuki. I kind of felt sorry for him when he was forced to go out and buy more sake.

"And so, we will look after you during your stay in this world. We own this boarding house, so ya can choose which ever room ya like"

"That'd be helpful" Fai said in a soft tone, smiling at the married couple.

"However…" Sorata began, "If you *points at Kurogane* try to lay a finger on my lovely, precious honey, I'll kill ya"

Kurogane fumed about the fact that he was the only one being threatened, only adding to the fire within himself that kept that ridiculous pissed expression on his surly face.

"I'm just messin' with ya" he laughed, "but if you do lay a finger…"

"YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT!"

And with that, the two took their leave, with a pissed Kurogane glaring in their direction, probably burning a hole in their heads with his eyes.

Everyone turned to look at the sleeping princess.

"She seems to look a lot better now" I said, "did something happen whilst I was out?"

The three boys looked at me. Kurogane gave me a strange look, and his eyes seemed to widen a fraction. Syaoran blushed, and Fai simply smiled as "happily" as ever.

I realised that my hood had fallen off. I paled. I did not want to be reminded of this face, and it was quite obvious that the effect it took on the young boy wasn't good. Definitely not, since there was a faint blush coating his cheeks.

"Hyuu~ Kurami-chan's pretty" Fai whistled, smiling brightly.

"Pretty, pretty!" Mokona cheered.

"Sh-shut up baka mage!" I yelled at Fai, my heart beating rapidly in my chest as his cool blue eyes bore into mine, even though I was…

He simply laughed and whistled again.

I turned to Kurogane, who simply shook his head. It was strange; he looked at me as if I were someone else… Or maybe it was that I looked like someone he knew…?

"I gave Sakura the feather from earlier" Syaoran told me, "after you, ah, fainted… the feather flew away and I ran to catch it…"

"And he got caught up in those baka's battle" Kurogane continued, "He used his kudan and ended their fight then gave the girl the feather. That's all"

"His kudan?" I asked curiously.

Mokona started clapping and giggling. "He had a fire kudan, a special level type! Syaoran is sugoi~"

Syaoran blushed at the white bun's compliment.

"Nee, Kurami-ko, why'd you faint earlier?" Mokona asked curiously, jumping into my hands again.

"My wish" I answered simply.

"You mean you saw a memory?" Syaoran asked, staring at me intently. His bright, determined eyes gazed into my violet ones.

I nodded.

"What was that crap about _the time before_?" Kurogane asked.

I narrowed my eyes. "It's none of your business" I said sharply, using a hint of my venomous voice to say that the discussion was over.

Everyone grew silent.

"So what now Syaoran-kun? How do you plan on finding the other Sakura feathers?" Fai asked, smiling softly at all of us as if we would know the answer.

Syaoran looked confused. "I…"

"Mokona knows!" the little creature bounced over to Syaoran's side. I watched the manjuu bun as it jumped about excitedly again. Even though I knew the journey I was now in, Yūko had not told me the details, such as the problems we faced. Those insignificant things were left for hitsuzen to direct.

"Mokona has memorised the feathers magical wave-length. So when a feather is nearby, my eyes do this" Mokona's eyes grew big, and she squealed "mekyo!".

We all sweat-dropped and I heard Kurogane mumble, "Stupid, strange manjuu bun", under his breath.

Mokona went on to explain that she had done so before during the battle, whilst Syaoran was fighting Shougo, a different feather than the one Sakura had already absorbed.

"If you sense that a feather is nearby, will you tell me?" Syaoran asked Mokona, as she was picked up by the smiling mage.

"Leave it to me!" Mokona said, swinging her arms up in the air as if to drag more attention to herself.

Kurogane scowled. "This has nothing to do with me, I'm going back to my own world. That's my only motive. I feel no need to stick my neck out for you guys, and have no desire to help you guys out in any way".

Syaoran smiled. "Yes. This is _my_ problem; I will try my best not to get in your way".

"Ehhhh, Syaoran-kun is so serious~" Fai noted.

"To the point where it's pissing me off…" I mumbled.

"So what about you two? You gonna help the brat out?"

"Fuuu… Well, I only don't want to return to my world, so as long as I don't die, I don't mind helping Syaoran-kun. I haven't anything better to do anyway hyuu~"

"And you?" Kurogane glanced in my direction.

"Seriously, I can't receive my memories without Sakura-hime receiving hers, so I'll help" I sighed, twirling a long piece of my thigh length jet-black hair.

"And it's not like I hate those two kids…"

"Thank you very much" Syaoran bowed.

"Stop being so formal, kid. You're only a few years younger than me and yet you speak like an old man…" I muttered under my breath, just loud enough to hear.

"Ahh, Kura-tan's a meanie~ anyway, Mokona won't leave for the next world till we find another feather!"

Kurogane glared at Mokona, and I smiled.

A lot was waiting in store for us…

That night, as I lay to sleep in the room we were all sharing, I looked up once to see Syaoran holding Sakura's hand and watching her as she slept, a small sad smile on his face.

All I could think about was that memory. _Who was Loki? What… was he to me?_

As my mind swam with the thought of my 'most important person', a picture of the sleeping mage against the opposite wall flooded my mind.

_What is this feeling…?_

The light of the moon washed away all thoughts, leaving dreams to swirl away inside my head, all thoughts of Fai gone as I slipped away into unconsciousness.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N Yep, there's another chapter. Please review, or Mokona will start crying and eat all of my consolation ice-cream I keep locked away in my vault. **

**Mokona: B-but-**

**Me: No ice-cream. It's mine!**

**Mokona: But…**

**Me: *Glares and holds refrigerator protectively (possessively)***

**Mokona: Waahhh! Maximum Dusk is scary~**

**REVIEW!**

**Thanks,**

**-Maximum Dusk**


	3. Chapter 3: Behind lies

**A/N Hey, guys. So I posted another story named Yume no Senken, but I have decided it's a bit too hard to work on two fanfics of similar nature at the same time, so I will be working (hopefully completing) this story before I move on to the other. With this chapter I kind of wanted to get you guys to know Kurami more, and I wanted to just set my own kind of play on this series so I'm changing it up (in a way).**

**Anyways, if you reviewed, THANK YOU! If you haven't now would be a good time, reviews make me happy~**

**_ _ _ _ _ **BREAK _ _ _ _ _

Sunshine filtered through the un-curtained window; blinding threads of silvery light dancing away against the wooden floor as the trees shifted, and the world went on as usual. Besides the fact that a group of dimension jumpers had just set up camp here in Hanshin Republic, myself included.

I rubbed my eyes warily, trying to fully wake myself up from the clutches of sleep. How long had I been out? My eyes carefully travelled over the room as I sat up, feeling my own dull purple cloak fall off of my shoulders having wrapped it around myself the night before when the cold grew too much for my un-sheltered skin.

I was surprised to find the room empty, besides the sleeping Sakura who was asleep upon the wooden floor just as she had been when I had fallen asleep last night. But there was no small, white, rabbit bundle full of joy. No sarcastic and easy to annoy ninja, no shy modest boy, and certainly no blonde blue-eyed mage.

Strange, I thought. Where is everybody?

The door to our room slid open.

"Ah, Shizuko-san good morning" Arashi greeted, giving me a small smile and walking across the room towards the sleeping princess. In her arms she held a basket filled with sewing material. She was wearing this world's casual clothing, a type of attire similar to the type normal people would wear, or so I had seen on my trips to receive payments outside of the shop.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"They went out to search for Sakura-chan's feather. They were going to bring you, but you were still sleeping and did not want to wake you" she told me, reaching into her basket and pulling out some folded up clothes. "Here, change into these. Your own world's clothes are not that different, but your clothes were wet when you arrived here"

I nodded, keeping my nondescript poker-face up as she gave me the clothes before she excused herself and went back to what she was doing before. I sighed, and began to change into the clothes she had given me. I carefully tugged off my own clothes, discovering just how dirty they were, and placed them in a neat pile beside where I sat. I knew for a fact that Arashi would be back to wash the clothes, and I didn't want to make anything harder for her since she had been kind enough to let us stay here.

Without really caring, I tugged the white and black graphic T over my head, and then shrugged on a pair of black shorts and long thigh-high socks.

Without much further ado I left the room, silently saying my goodbye's in my head to the sleeping Sakura as I stealthily walked through the internal dwellings of the couples place.

"I'm leaving!" I yelled through the building, hoping the woman would hear me as I threw on a pair of black boots at the door, pocketed a little cash (they won't miss it…) and headed out the door.

The sky was a bright, light blue only disturbed by a few clusters of puffy white clouds, the sun shining brightly above my head as I walked around town, getting to familiarise myself with the place as I saw the so called kudans at work as they helped in the strangest ways possible. The place was bustling with people, young and old, as they shopped and chatted with colleagues and friends and went on with their day-to-day lives, happily greeting the new day.

I tried to stay out of sight, like I had learnt to do over time. I disliked the spot light, and I didn't particularly like big crowds either, so I dodged the crowd wherever I could, and only smiled or actually acknowledged people when I ruined their display window, or accidentally tipped over their fresh produce as other more hurried people pushed me aside to reach their own destinations.

Back in my own world, I had never really dealt well with crowds; I never attended school like all of the other students, all the other _normal _students. I knew nothing of schools, or other people my age, other than what Watanuki had oh so kindly slipped as we both tried our best to contain a drunken Yūko on the verge of obscenity having drunken to much sake.

But, I suppose it never really bothered me before either. Sure, sometimes I'd get bored sitting in my old room in the shop, reading book upon book about all things imaginable. But that way, I was able to learn more about Yūko and about the shop. And with that came the assurance of my existence. Well… at least for now…

I had just bought an apple at a small side-street stall, a red juicy fruit quite similar to the ones from my world, but perhaps juicier and a tad more flavourful.

And suddenly, I felt my earing chime. I froze, not stepping another inch in this hustling bustling street as my own magical alarm system goes off, my earing: the magical seal that acted as a cloaking device to hide what I _really _am. To hide that glowing blue crown that floats above my head, the sign of…

The chiming becomes softer, and I turn around to see a group of those Mohawk baka's from yesterday running towards me, the bustling crowd parting like the red sea and running away, feeling the buzzing energy coming from them that symbolized their willingness to fight, and they weren't stupid enough to believe that they would just stumble around town in the middle of the day without a clear reason, without picking a fight with _someone. _And as it turns out, apparently those fools want to fight _me. _

The place cleared until there was no one around, except for the kudan gang and me.

"Hey you! You were with that Syaoran kid yesterday, the one Shogo's interested in" one of them called. I couldn't tell which one, because they all looked almost exactly the same, and I had to try and stop myself from replying sarcastically, _yeah, the one who was passed out, that's the one! _

I sighed, annoyance clear. "If there's nothing you want, go bother another innocent civilian. I have no time for your annoying excuse of a gang"

They whole gang snarled, all taking a step towards me. "Stop!" One of them called, the man from before. I took the time to look a little closer, and was able to single him out from the pack of angry men before me. The only slight deviation from the rest of the men's attire was the colour of the lenses from his sun-glasses, which were more of a blue than a black like the rest of them wore.

"If we capture her and bring her back to boss, maybe we can use her as bait to get that Syaoran kid!"

I sweat-dropped. Well, good luck with that…

Instantly, with no words spoken, they were once again shooting balls of red light, like a laser, but this time they were aiming at me.

I jumped, twirling in the air before landing again. I dodged, creating some kind of strange dance where each movement was graceful yet erratic. I landed on a lamppost, and then jumped quickly as they positioned to fire in the direction I had just been. Without much effort, the power of their shots was strong enough to send the light pole shuddering down, until it crashed into the pavement and was enough of a stunner to holt me in my dance and send me back, flying onto the ground far less graceful than usual. I swore as they prepared to shoot again.

I wasn't tired, more like I knew this couldn't go on for much longer, especially with all of the destruction they were causing just trying to get a hit on me. What to do? I could keep dodging, or I could find some way to get to the back of them and take them out. I was quick enough, but without a distraction, with the amount of the Mohawks present, at least one of them would be able to hit me in the fray and I wasn't in the mood for injury: after all, with the amount of worlds that were bound to come up on our travels, I couldn't afford to suffer any injuries, however few and un-painful, injuries are injuries and I couldn't afford for this journey to be halted because of my own weakness.

No, I cannot let them stop just because of me. And if they worry, well that would be even worse.

So definitely NO injuries, unless unavoidable.

I dodged another blow, jumping even higher into the air. What to do?

_If you need me, I'm here_ a voice spoke to me, a smooth unnatural voice like the whispering of trees, soft and violent, as the branches hit together in the wind.

And from inside me, a grey glowing ball erupted from my soul, and then morphed into its true shape.

In front of me was a large, silver-white wolf with fur like glass, each small strand reflecting light, reflecting the world around it as if it weren't there. Its eyes were pure white, as if it was blind, and each paw had long claws like knives, extended and almost as long as the space between my elbow and my fingertips.

I was so stunned that I didn't see another jet of kudan power coming right this way, and so my kudan jumped in front of me and dissolved itself into black, char like smoke that wrapped itself around me and acted like a shield against the onslaught of red.

"Whoa! This one's got a special level kudan!" One of them roared as the group of men finally realised that I did in fact have a kudan.

Despite my special kudan, the men kept firing on the orders of the blue-glasses-guy. What now?

_You said you needed a distraction, right? _My kudan whispered to me, changing back into its wolven form as I jumped and dodged once more. _That's what you said before. _

And then upon my mysterious kudans words, the silver crystalline wolf before me deteriorated into smoke once again, and then to my surprise, spread like wild fire across the shopping district like a black fog, a heavy mist.

I shut my eyes, trying to protect them from the grey blackness. _Open your eyes_ my kudan told me. I slowly did as my kudan asked, and as surprised as before I found that I was able to see through the deep dark fog, un-like the group of baka's on the other side of the road who were moaning and complaining about the black fog.

I smirked, understanding my kudan perfectly. I ran, perfectly dodging fallen debris that appeared before me as bright as day as I raced stealthily to the other side. My kudan was once more beside me as I made my way behind the block heads. Before they even knew what was happening, in the darkness I easily and quietly took out each of the undesirables. With a well-placed kick, and a palm here and there, I was set and before long I had knocked out each of the men.

As a finishing move, my kudan ran and went through each jerk, like ink it was able to pass through and stain each soul before sending an electric shock through its victim, a flash of purple lightning amongst the darkness.

Once the job was done, the kudan called back the murky mist, until the whole smoke-like substance had been absorbed once again. The street was now sunny, as bright as it had been prior to the fight.

The birds even tweeted as if nothing had happened. The only evidence was the passed out bodies of the gang and the damage they had caused trying to hit me with their red kudan shots.

My kudan looked at me through its blind white eyes. _The electric shock worked as a sleep-enhancer. They will not wake for some time yet. _

I thanked my kudan, before feeling it re-enter my soul through my heart.

I patted the place where it had entered and weakly smiled. Thank you…

In the distance, I heard the sirens of police cars as they edged towards the street, probably having been alerted of the gang members by the fleeing civilians before the battle had begun.

I smirked, knowing that by the time they arrived, all they would find would be the decapitated gang men, the debris from the battle and nothing to explain it…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

It was the afternoon by the time I had arrived back at the Arisugawa's boarding house, and when I arrived I found a distraught Arashi who explained to me how Sakura had slipped away from her when she had not been paying attention, just for a second, and how the others were now out looking for her.

I thanked her for the information, and then set off in search of Sakura myself.

Now, where could a young girl such as Sakura be? She didn't have any memories, so… where could she go?

I searched town, warily, keeping my eyes peeled for the only other female on our team, who although comatose, had left an impression on me.

Before long, night came. The sky became dark with the loss of the sun and the weight of the day shot down any wavering clouds until they were almost invisible against the darkened sky. Through the busy streets of Hanshin, the only light came from the street lamps, the shop windows, and the starry sky above.

The moon hung gracefully in the sky, a crescent smiling as it stared down to the earth and watched the busy night dwellers; watched as I searched street by street for the girl I had only just previously met.

For some reason, something about her just made me want to protect her. And unlike the night sky, the young girl reminded me of the bright and shining sun during spring. Perhaps it was her hair, or the fact that she was from a desert country. But I don't think that's it. When I looked at her sleeping face, the only lines in her soft porcelain skin were around her pink lips, as if she smiled often, a wide blown smile bright and warm like the sun.

Yes. That was it.

And then, as I once again looked up at the moon, I didn't see that cratered rocky surface full of scars, no… I saw _his _eyes.

… He's watching. And he's probably enjoying this.

I scowled up at the sky, knowing _he _would be watching, and then set off once more in search of the princess. But still no luck.

And then I felt my ear chime again. But not those treacherous warning bells… no, this was the soft whistle of snow topped mountains, of racing winds around grassy hills as each length of green grass flapped.

The ring of _magic. _

Magic… in a place like this… I sprinted in the direction of the flowing magic; the kind of magic I'd never experienced before. It was strange, but powerful, a soft humming of birds wings as they flew away…

It may not even be called magic. But that obvious thrum… it didn't leave much else to be desired.

And so I ran. Through the wiry maze-like streets as I let the birds flapping wings guide me towards the potent magic.

Until I arrived at an old abandoned looking port, with cranes and large containers besides a glittering supply of water that reflected the bright crescent moon. It shone brightly, even more so than before, bathed in a strange rosy hue.

I heard voices, and walked towards them; through this iron playground filled with metal building blocks, and giant cranes like a giraffe's neck: its face reaching upwards to eat the foliage of the starry night sky.

I kept walking, roughly turning around corners as I focused on locating the magical signal which, until this point, had been running like a bell. Now… not so much.

I wasn't sure where I was going, and I was becoming more and more aware of the shadows that were rolling off of the big equipment: places untouched by the moons iridescent kiss.

I was getting more and more aware of the shadows. What am I doing? Why am I suddenly…?

I quickened my pace, feeling my whole body go off into tingles as I felt more and more afraid of the shadowy forms that were scattered around me.

I was getting quite over-worked now. My breathing was un-even, and my heart was beating loud in my ears.

_Thump… thump… thump…_ (_doki… doki… doki…) _

Since when had I been so scared of the dark…?

I was so out of it, that I didn't see the wall in front of me, and before I could stop I had already slammed myself against the wall from the momentum of my quick pace. The shock of the hit sent me back-wards until I crashed into the floor, on my back.

"Ah, it's Kura-chan!" I heard someone call, and when I say someone… I mean a certain blonde mage.

I looked up, and that brick wall turned out to be not so much of a brick wall. Apparently, I had been so out of it that I had run into the back of Fai.

"Fai…" I whispered, feeling myself slightly relax in the presence of the blonde.

He looked down at me worriedly, for once not actually faking his emotions. "Are you alright, Kurami? Did something happen?"

He seemed to be searching my eyes for an answer, as if my well-being was very important. He seemed to be quite worried, staring at me with those big blue eyes of his.

_Liar…_

And then I realised the position I was in, with my shirt slightly riding up and my shorts rolling into my thighs… I blushed and fixed myself up, feeling his questioning eyes bore into me. _He had seen… _

I shook my head, covering my face with my fringe before he could see my dilated pupils, before he could see the flushed skin and the sweat; pretty much anything that indicated that I _wasn't _alright.

But I was too late, I could see his worried glances as I roughly got up, not taking his out-stretched hand and quickly mumbled a "no, I'm fine".

_Liar…_

I finally realised that the rest of the crew, plus Masayoshi, were only a few metres back and I found myself relaxing even more.

Thank goodness I'm not alone…

And then I noticed a sleeping Sakura in Syaoran's arms.

"So… what'd I miss?"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

Fai and I were alone in the kitchen, having been chosen to wash and pack away the dishes. After being told Sakura's story, we had been ordered into the kitchen to have some of Arashi's home-cooked meals- which were according to Sorata "simply a dream, as expected of my honey".

In that sentence alone, his nose had grown at least two inches. What proud blighter.

And then, of course, Fai had "nominated" him and me to clean up the dishes. I wasn't sure what he was planning, but I didn't feel any more assured being in the room with _him, _especially in a room filled with knives and other utensil's to kill.

No, that smile of his _screamed _murder. At least, that's what I thought. But it's hard to say, since most of his smiles are fake.

But… that one time when he had smiled for real, I had felt my heart literally stop, and then beat five times faster.

Stop it, I ordered myself, feeling my own cheeks begin to heat up.

What is this?

But that's beside the point. Through Yūko, I had learnt all of their pasts. Each of them, every one of them, all of their lives had been connected to this story for years. And so I knew _everything._ Especially about this blond mage.

And it's because of this knowledge that I cannot let myself trust him. Especially since he is one of _his_ little puppets.

Or so I was told.

"Hey, Kura-kura… why were you so upset before, back at that dock?" He asked me, smiling like a blatant fool, as if he weren't prying.

I growled, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Nothing, baka mage" I told him, paying extra attention to a certain non-existent speck of dirt on one of the plates. I was careful to keep my voice void of emotion, as I had been up to this moment.

"It wasn't 'nothing', Kura-tan; you looked as if you'd seen a ghost and were afra-"

I slammed down the cloth I had been using to clean the plates with, feeling my long sleek black hair once again cover my unnatural violet eyes.

"Some of us have secrets", I grounded out, watching his smile fall a bit, "secrets we don't want others snooping around, right _Yui?_"

I saw his eyes bulge, and his smile slip completely from his face to be replaced by a curving frown as he analysed me, his blue eyes flashing violently.

I had just called him Yui. Stupid, stupid, stupid… There was a tension between us, and I had never felt so chilled to the bone alone in a kitchen, with a man and a block full of knives.

I don't trust him…

And then Kurogane came walking in, his usual aura sending bolts of warmth through me. I'd never tell him, but Kurogane had just saved me from a rather sticky situation… for now.

"You can get dressed now, squirt, you're done aren't ya?" He asked in his usual gruff tone, staring at me with his devilish red crimson eyes, much like Yūko's. I could tell that he had noticed the atmosphere, but had decided to ignore it.

I walked past him, nodding, and silently thanking him for the reprieve.

I could feel his piercing, blue eyes bore into the back of my head as I walked agonizingly slow out of the kitchen. And even once I was out of view, I could still feel his icy cold gaze on the nape of my neck.

No… this wasn't over.

Just the beginning.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N so yeah, this chapter was more of an insight on my OC, as well as all of the other drama… yup, just another day with the Tsubasa crew! Anyways, if you liked it review! It's the best thing you can do! You know you want to…**

**Mokona: Wah! I wasn't in this chapter as much- noda**

**MD: Technically, you weren't in this chapter at all since you were asleep when Syaoran came to get Sakura**

**Mokona: NNNNNNNNOOOOOO!- noda**

**MD: What's with the "-noda"? **

**Mokona: It was in this manga I read called MoMo, where… *blah* *blah* *blah* **

**MD: Here we go…**

**Mokona: DID YOU SAY SOMETHING!-noda**

**HD: No… not at all…**

**Later ;)**

**-Maximum Dusk**


	4. Chapter 4: The Heart Beats Alone

**A/N Okay, so I'm gonna try and update regularly now, but only until next Thursday, then I'll probably have to slow down on the chapters *shot***

**So, I have very detailed plot summaries for my stories, so if you want a bit more info about the stories, just visit my profile it is up.**

**I should probably get on with the story now…**

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

By the time all of us were in the same room again, Fai had resumed his normal state and was once again jumping about the room and teasing Kurogane, whilst Mokona was still asleep in the angry ninja's pocket. But I had a feeling that Fai was just masking his true feelings, and would probably wait until we were alone to question me.

But I would be a good girl and try my best to avoid such an interrogation. Such things can be troublesome, especially with a smart sorcerer like him who would undoubtedly ask all the right questions with a suitable amount of force, lest he lose his temper and do something he would regret.

I myself had already stumbled. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was my own fault, having lost my temper over the slightest thing.

That mage… I can never tell how I'll act around him. He brings on the strangest emotions…

The others were talking about Sakura and the events that took place tonight. I only vaguely payed attention as Mokona awoke and proceeded to cause trouble once again. No, I was too busy watching the young boy, Syaoran's expression.

He was looking down at the sleeping princess gently, his own smile telling of soft emotions and happy times spent with the princess. Such a gentle gaze… It left me thinking about how it would feel to love… or even be loved.

But I had no such memory of that emotion; there was no trace of such a painfully beautiful love.

And so I watched him, from my little corner, feeling something well up inside of me. That boy… once the course of the wish became completely apparent; he wouldn't be able to smile so warmly and so freely without feeling pain.

The pain that would consume him and remind him that things would never be the same. That Sakura would never love him the way she used to; never smile at him filled with happiness of times past, times spent together in their childhood and up to this point.

And when the time came for us to sleep, and the room was dark in synchronization with the deep black midnight sky, I watched him grip her hand, watched his brown eyes as he watched his princess sleep, protecting her and just being there. He was so determined, to save the one he loved…

Yes… when she woke up and wouldn't remember him… his smiles would become painful. And as I began to drift off into a lulling sleep, the last thing that stayed in my mind was clear.

I wanted to protect their smiles. Because I knew, deep down that they were far too innocent to have to lower themselves to feel the kind of pain that leave them numb, that hack at them until they're bruised and bloody.

Because those emotions were meant for only someone like me; and I don't even know why… all of the answers lie in memories that I can't remember…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

I awoke to the sound of others talking in another room. I hesitantly got up, noticing the still evident darkness of the sky.

I must have only slept for minutes… and yet Syaoran is already gone.

And he didn't wake me up…

I got up, feeling my tired muscles meet me with painful glares and nasty taunts of hatred. God, I wonder if this will hurt even more in the morning.

Stretching lightly, I turned towards the door and slowly slid the door to the side, making sure not to make any noise as I stealthily made my way to the only illuminated room in the small boarding house.

Through the sliding door, I could hear the excited drawl of Sorata as he greeted his wife with enthusiasm, perhaps a little too much since the next sound I heard was a loud crash as, undoubtedly, Arashi belted her husband for his lack of tact, and his over willingness to boast about her once again.

It was then, that I slid open the door without a worry about interrupting, since Sorata had done just that.

"Waah~ it's Ku-chan!" The white manjuu bun squealed, bouncing around the room with excitement, yelling things like "that's a really big bump", and "Arashi's so strong!" as it excitedly danced and giggled about the smallest, slightest thing.

The others looked up from what they were doing, and greeted me in their own way. For Kurogane, it was a gruff grunt (as usual), for Syaoran it was a small bow and a small smile. But of course, Fai was the one who grinned like a maniac and offered me a seat beside him, in-between himself and Syaoran. I sighed, too tired to fight, and took the place offered with so little as a huff.

"Why didn't you wake me up, Syaoran-kun?" I asked him calmly, having awoken alone in the room with the sleeping princess.

He looked at me and then answered, "well, I didn't want to wake you and…"

I once again sighed, and nudged him slightly in the ribs with my elbow. "Lighten up, kid, I don't bite you know" I said, smirking and then smiling softly in his direction to make sure that he knew that I didn't mean to be, well, let's just say mean as to rather the other swear word that would probably work better.

He smiled at me, and then we all turned our gaze to the giant map of Hanshin before us.

"I see, so you weren't able to find it today either" Sorata said, being more serious now that his wife had knocked some sense into him. "So, you were trying to work out your next move" he summarised, nodding his head. It was only then that I completely realised the size of the bump on his bed.

I tried to hold it in at first, but before I knew it I was laughing, a little louder than a whisper. Before anybody noticed, I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to contain my laughter as I shook slightly with the shock waves of the hysterical laughter being muffled by my hand.

When I was done, I looked to meet the eyes of the blond mage beside me who looked at me strangely, before blowing out his bright smile.

I was caught off guard for a second, before turning away and paying attention to what was at hand once more.

What was that…?

"Mokona last felt the feathers presence right above this bridge" Syaoran explained, pointing out a location on the beige coloured map.

"The next time Mokona felt it was around the Takoyaki place" Fai continued, this time not smiling and opting for a slightly more serious attitude.

Wait… what? What were they talking about? I frowned, and looked at the three men questioningly. I then gave up, feeling that it was probably around the time that I was busy fighting off those stupid gang members with my kudan.

Kurogane continued, and argued that fact that Mokona was asleep at the time, like a dream.

Mokona shook her head, and stopped bouncing before us. "It wasn't a dream, that became clear later!" She gabbled proudly.

"Get a grip, white thing" Kurogane growled, getting annoyed by Mokona as she pouted and then grinned again.

"Stop being a bully, Kuro-puro" I exasperated, tutting at him like an old hag angry with his inability to get along with the 'other children'.

"Haha, Kurami-ko's right, Kuro-rin!" Mokona sang.

Kurogane blanched, glaring at me and the white dancing burro. "Don't call me Kuro-rin!" he growled at Mokona, "and don't call me Kuro-puro!"

Mokona giggled and kept on teasing him.

"Since the energy Mokona felt is not where it was originally felt, perhaps the feather is inside a moving object" Arashi suggested, as Kurogane yelled for Mokona to shut up.

"A moving object…?" Syaoran asked, puzzled.

"Something that appears and disappears…" I mumbled, giving my own input into the conversation.

"Kudan" Syaoran figured; invisible bulbs of light flashing above his head.

"Indeed, a kudan disappears and then reappears" Fai agreed, turning to all of us and each giving us a glance him his deep, sapphire blue eyes.

Was it just me, or was he looking at me longer…?

Stop it, I told myself. Just stop it!

Why am I feeling so weird?

"So if the kudan disappears, so does the feather" Kurogane explained, with Mokona hanging off of his back with a smile and a giggle here and there.

We all silently agreed that Sakura's feather was in a kudan.

"But who's kudan…" Syaoran questioned, rubbing his head around the giant mound on his head.

"That's the hard part, everyone in this country has a kudan, like someone's private guardian angel" Sorata exclaimed, raising a finger in his speech.

"Over eight million… Simply put, there are many of them, each charged with the purpose of protecting their other halves"

"Then how are we supposed to find the kudan that has the princess's feather?" I asked, my eyes flickering to Syaoran who seemed as if he wanted to say the exact same thing.

"I'm not perfectly sure, but I can tell you guy's one thing. The kudan carrying the feather would have to be a pretty strong one" Sorata told us, before his wife Arashi continued with the explanation.

"Sakura-san's feather, or in other words a fragment of her memories, is like the very core of her soul, her heart; in order to attain such a powerful object, the holder itself would have to be of a matching power. If a person loses their memories magically, those memories would leave the person empty and close to death" she looked at me as if I was an anomaly. I stared at her blankly, my guard up once more.

"The only exception of this is, of course, Kurami-san"

Everyone stared at me strangely, before Fai broke the silence with a plain and simple, "I see". He smiled at me, and I silently thanked him for getting everyone to break out of their staring spell.

"So to find Sakura-chan's feather, all we have to do is find a person with a strong kudan"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

We were in the city again, this time together as we all leaned against the railing as we sighed and relaxed for one moment to breathe in some air.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea" Fai cooed, breathing in the air from our height.

"Seems people don't generally walk around and display their kudans without a reason" Syaoran sighed.

Mokona pouted, sadly on Syaoran's shoulder. "Then I won't be able to find it…"

"Not to mention, even if we found the person who has it, do you really think they'd just turn it over to us without a fight?" Kurogane reasoned, leaning his back against the railing, his black shirt standing out in the usual colour of the place. And if the black on him didn't match the place, neither would my mix of black and white.

We heard pounding feet, and turned to see Masayoshi running towards us, in casual clothing this time, might I add, though he still looked kind of strange to me.

"Syaoran-kun!" He called. His liking of said Syaoran pretty evident as he smiled at us as we acknowledged him.

"Masayoshi-kun" Syaoran answered, seemingly surprised by the presence of the boy. We all turned around from our relaxed positions and payed attention to him as he spoke.

"Ah, you're the one who fainted that time!" He panted, catching his breath from the run.

I blushed, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

"W-well, I wasn't feeling well" I muttered, haughtily as I once again felt annoyed at myself for being forced into a memory like that one.

He nodded understandingly. "Did you find what you were looking for yet?" He asked, finally straightening up from his bent position.

"No, not yet" Syaoran answered.

Masayoshi then went on to rant about how he wanted to help out, and about how he had the day off from his studies since it was a Sunday, something that was also common for Japanese schools in my world.

"Are you sure?" Syaoran asked, not wanting to intrude on the young boy's time. I silently hmphed, hoping he would let off a bit and just take the guys offer.

"Yes" he answered enthusiastically, smiling at each of us.

"Thank you, Masayoshi-kun" Syaoran went on to say, a grateful smile upon his lips.

Hey, at least he took up the kid's offer.

"Masayoshi's so nice~" Mokona giggled, still perching herself on Syaoran's shoulder, staying away from Kurogane much to my surprise.

I felt my ear chime. Danger, danger. Before I could do anything, a giant metal bird had swiftly angled itself towards us and swooped down. The powerful wind from its wings made me close my eyes to protect myself, and suddenly I felt myself being blown away.

"Aahh!" I felt myself shriek in surprise, as I was blown roughly over the metal grid that protected others from falling off of the tall building. So much for that precaution.

I yelped, as I fell further and further. I could hear the others above me calling my name desperately, and before I hit the ground the giant mechanical bird swooped down once again and grabbed me, hoisting me so that I was perched upon its back as it began to ply away at record speed.

"Mokona! Masayoshi-kun! Kurami-san!" I heard Syaoran yell, his voice then lose its ringing sound as the wind around me began to whoosh and force out any other sound, other than the faint sound of Mokona giggling excitedly somewhere below me. We were flying away, and fast!

I couldn't do much, lest I fall. I may be able to use magic… but I can't risk it. Everyone would be able to see me. I could only see their silhouettes now, the small shape of their bodies left behind confusedly as we were kidnapped.

Yes, I hate to admit it, but I, Shizuko Kurami, had just been kidnapped. And it didn't take much either.

This doesn't do much for my ego.

We were sailing through the air, the rough wind blowing and tugging against my long, jet black hair, forcing it to trail behind me like a comet's tail. Below us, shops and districts were lightened by the sun, and surprisingly I took pleasure in seeing Hanshin in a birds-eye view. How incredibly ironic.

Before long, we had come to this old styled building, a lot like a shrine except much bigger, and very grand. The tiling was a peacock blue, and the whole structure was made out of white cement and brown wooden pillars that acted as supports throughout the structure, also being used as a rail for the balcony. Here and there, the place was dotted with golden designs, only making it even more grand as the bird swooped down and dropped us on-top of the roof.

As if invisible hands had touched it, pieces of long brown rope threaded its way towards us, and bounded our bodies to the head of the roof with a vice grip. I scowled, feeling my anger pile up.

Who did this? I'M GOING TO KILL THEM!

"You idiots! I told you to get the boy, so why did you bring a girl as well? And are you even sure that that's the guy Shogo-kun said he liked?" I heard through my trained good ears, a feminine but annoyed voice asks below us. The voice seemed pissed, and was slightly childlike. Whiny, as if she never got what she wanted.

"There's no doubt about it, ma'am, according to our research, the smallest guy in their group is Syaoran" I heard a man say. The shuffling of feet below made it sound like there were many more people down there than I had originally thought.

I smirked. So they wanted Syaoran? Fools, they got Masayoshi instead. I wanted to yell this at their faces, but I knew it was probably best if this information would come to light later in the show. Besides, I would draw attention to myself and the fact that I'm eavesdropping with my powerful hearing. I'd rather not be questioned for said ability.

The girl sighed, unimpressed.

I just hung there, waiting for the right time to get myself out of this giant knot. Beside me, Masayoshi was panicking, squeezing his eyes together and just freaking out in general. Mokona, though, looked like she was enjoying herself and was swirling around on her rope as if to dance again, laughing and muttering a "puu~" here and there.

Mokona; should have known that she'd find a way to find some enjoyment in this. If I could face-palm, I would have.

But sadly, I'm bound, to the point where it's a bit hard to breathe.

I wonder how long it's gonna take for people to realise that a pair of humans, and a Mokona were dangling from the roof of one of their treasured historical monuments.

Knowing my luck, no one; besides the others who would probably come looking for us, with their inability to communicate. I am so glad that Yūko had decided to tell me a few of Mokona's abilities. The rest, the Dimension Witch intoned, were a secret.

"Oh, I'm floating~ oh, I'm floating~ like a balloon in the sky", Mokona was singing, "Mr Wind, keep blowing and blowing, blow and blow and don't stop…"

I sighed, turning to Mokona.

"Do you think we should wait for them, or get out now?" I asked Mokona, who had stopped swinging around to listen to what I had to say.

"W-w-what?" Masayoshi asked, stepping out of his panicked state to turn to me questioningly. "You can get out of these things?"

I faintly smiled. "That depends. What do you call 'getting out'?"

He frowned, not understanding what I was saying.

"Kura-kura, I like it up here! Let's hang for a while~" Mokona called, swinging around in a circle once again. I sighed, my position on the highest place of the roof somewhat annoying me. It was like a tiger or something, made of gold and swooping off into the shape of a moon. Actually, it was a creature in-between a fish and a tiger.

Because that makes more sense… though…

It's interesting…

I felt my earing chime once again, alerting me to the presence of three men far below, on the ground not too far away from the giant, Hanshin Castle.

I smiled. So they're here. "You don't need to worry anymore, Masayoshi-kun, everyone's here, so when the time comes please get ready to be released" I intoned, making sure he understood as I myself prepared to watch the show.

I saw Fai wave at us, his white shirt and blond hair standing out from the pavement, and for some reason it was as if I could feel his forever blue eyes on mine… but, we were too far away from each other, I can't even see his eyes. And yet… I have this annoying feeling.

I shook away the feeling, smiling at the sight of them. It's so nice to know Kuro-puu cares…

Mokona was into another verse of her weird song, and I heard Masayoshi sigh in relief as he finally understood what I meant. Silly kid.

Then, below us three strange men, possibly the ones from before, concentrated their energy into creating the giant metal bird, the kudan from before. So it takes three people…

The bird roared, flapping its wings viciously, soaring towards the group. Kurogane was fast, calling upon his own kudan in the form of a giant sword and with one stroke, cut the kudan in half, successfully making it disappear.

With the force of the quick destruction, one of the men fell onto his back in pain. "Captain! Are you okay?" I heard his companions shout, worriedly rushing to the aid of their fallen captain.

The girl from before, who I could now see, was yelling at them for their uselessness. She had pale, sea-green hair that was long, with rolls of hair ('buns') on the sides of her hair. She had golden eyes that yelled rich, and she wore an absurd outfit that consisted of boots, a light pink mid-riff shirt, a long skirt in a darker shade of pink, and yellow fairy wings. Yes, you heard right. Fairy wings.

Just who is this girl?

For some reason, there were a group of people down below who seemed to be angry with something one of the three had said, yelling profanities and screaming to the world the greatness of said girl, who was apparently named Primera-chan. Some weird idol.

"What they said is correct. I've been waiting for you guys" that whiny voice said again, the sound of a child who was spoiled.

"Please let my friends go!" I heard Syaoran shout, loud enough for us to hear from our altitude. Even from here, I could sense the determined expression he was probably wearing.

The girl seemed confused, and I snickered as she finally realised that Masayoshi was not Masayoshi.

"I'm Syaoran!"

I couldn't help but laugh, it was just so comical.

The girl, Primera then went on to severely punish the men who had made the mistake of not getting Syaoran. "BAKA!" She yelled, her soft whiny voice becoming strained as she yelled at the three men.

I suddenly felt sorry for them.

Syaoran continued to negotiate with Primera, who denied his efforts of getting us back unless he fought her.

I glowered. Was she serious? He had more important things to do than fight some hipster idol that didn't get what she wanted.

Surprisingly, Fai stood in front of Syaoran as to take his place. My eyes bulged.

From behind him, a giant emerald bird phased into existence, a beautiful, graceful bird with an ethereal feel, its giant wings filled with a row of perfectly smooth lime feathers.

His kudan.

He patted the bird's beak, and then the giant creature spread its wings, roaring loudly into the air as it prepared for what Fai planned on doing. It then glowed, and then turned back into a green rolling sphere of energy, and being absorbed again inside Fai. He glowed once, and then hovered. Without hesitation, he flew into the air, the wind blowing his golden locks out of his flashing eyes.

"I'll be back in a bit~" he shouted, just loud enough for me to hear it.

"He's flying…" I mumbled, my eyes dazed as I watched him gracefully soar through the air, invisible wings on his back sending him naturally into the warm, blue sky; it's home.

Primera was whining again, like a five year-old she pounded her feet against the area in which she stood.

So annoying…

After a dramatic flourish, her kudan formed as a strange microphone, and moments later she was yelling phrases into the microphone, sending giant multi-coloured musical notes towards the floating Fai.

There was a giant explosion, a thick cloud of dust surrounded the place where Fai was like a foggy mist, it was dense enough to not see Fai after the explosion. Did he get hit…?

I felt my stomach knot.

Without knowing what I was doing, I had shouted "Fai!", my hair falling into my face as I lunged a bit forward. I had shouted his name, and without an honorific too…

From within the misty haze of dust, Fai emerged, unscathed as if he had not been hit at all. He looked up at me and smiled, before returning to his fight with the possessive pop-star.

"Well that was surprising, I wasn't expecting that kind of kudan" he said cheerily, visually acting as if he was anything but surprised.

"And even Kurami-chan thought that I was a goner~" he cooed, smiling up at me again and matching my gaze with his own.

As if stung, Primera looked upwards and saw me hanging along with the rest.

"You…" she seethed, eyeing me as if I was the devils incarnate, "let's see how he'll act when you're gone… Bye, bye!" she sang into her microphone, but this time the notes weren't aimed at Fai… They were aimed at me!

I quietly swore, unleashing my kudan so as to free myself. The familiar snout of my inky shadow wolf appeared in all of its white glory, its pale blind eyes staring angrily at the onslaught of notes.

"Protect those two!" I yelled, before jumping away to a lower level. The notes hit, sending pieces of the tower spraying away from the explosion. The whole area around the roof went up in dust as the aftershock spread even more splinters of wood and tiling towards the far ground.

Through the mess, I had heard my name being yelled at by multiple people, the loudest being Fai as he watched in horror as the top of the roof was blasted off.

"Kurami-chan!"

A splinter of wood flew past my face, grazing my cheek and leaving a cut that began to spill blood onto my black shorts. Uh, even though blood probably won't be seen much against black, it'll still be a bitch to clean.

I sighed. "That could've really hurt you know…" I growled, jumping from the ledge and towards where Primera stood upon another kind of roof on a lower level still. I jumped and jumped, being quick as to not be seen by slow eyes like undoubtedly this girl had. I saw the look of shock as I suddenly appeared before her out of nowhere.

And I could hear the surprised whispers of others.

"So that kid's pretty fast, huh?" Kurogane barked from bellow.

My kudan returned to me, having protected Masayoshi and Mokona as the explosion hit. They were both still hanging, around the only place that hadn't been hit by the explosions. I wiped the blood away from my cheek, flicking the specs of blood away as if they were nothing.

My kudan growled, too, coiling itself around my legs protectively.

"Y-you have a special level kudan too? Just who are you guys!" she annoyingly shrieked, letting giant music notes fly off into different directions without a target. Each note hit a part of the old structure, damaging it and sending debris everywhere in its onslaught.

"We're just humble travellers, and if I were you, I'd back off now…" I grounded out, feeling a slight change of wind as Fai touched down, coming towards us with his usual smile on this face.

"Wah~, Kura-chan you beat me to it!" he called, grabbing me from the back and resting his chin against my shoulder. My kudan looked up at me, before smirking in its own wolf-y way before becoming a glowing ball and returning to my heart where it rested.

"How mean of you…" he whispered, blowing into my ear. "Ah!" I yelled in surprise, him being so close to my body. I felt hot with my back against his chest, his warm smothering breath caressing my bare neck and shoulder, not to mention my ear... I began to blush, feeling my cheeks warm up and my heart beat faster, thrashing against my rib-cage.

I blanched, swinging my arms around me frantically.

"Wh-what are you doing, baka mage!" I yelled, finally able to get him off of me. He just smiled.

"Mokona didn't react to her whilst we were fighting her… she must not have the feather" he told me, before moving his gaze over to the girl who just stared at us like we were aliens.

"How could you have dodged my kudan-chan? It makes me soooo angry!" Another wave of music notes appeared, splattering around the historical building again. This time, however, one went in our direction. Before I could react, Fai had pushed me down and was shielding my body with his own as the music note exploded above us. We rolled down the mini roof roughly, him ending up on top of me as we landed onto the flatter part of the roof on this level. He had me pinned to the floor, his face next to my own past my shoulder, his big gentle hands covering my face to protect it.

In the background, I heard Primera scream as the debris spilled over her being right next to the explosion.

When it was safe again, he lifted his hand off of my face, and then lifted his own. I thought he was going to completely get up, but his body froze when he got to the point where our faces were centimetres apart. For a moment, he stared into my eyes as if he was stuck, and I could feel my own cheeks begin to ripen with his strong gaze. He finally seemed to snap out of it, and he too, though a little more subtle, blushed in his own way and quickly got up so that we was no longer pinning me.

But even with the weight of him gone my heart as still beating wildly, like a thunder clap beneath my skin erupting like fire.

He helped me up, before looking away and covering his eyes with his blond fringe.

"Are you okay, Kura-kura?" He asked, turning back around with a wide grin on his face, as if nothing had happened.

It took a moment for me to speak.

"Y-yeah…" I mumbled, feeling myself stumble on the words. What is wrong with me? What just happened?

"I'm glad" he whispered, before pointing up towards the tantrum-run Primera. "It seems as if she's still cross" he told me conversationally, using his kudan to hover, and offered his hand.

Do I trust him…? No, I don't. But, some things just can't be helped. I grabbed his hand, and felt him hoist me up until he was carrying me half-heartedly, and then flew up again onto the mini roof.

He let go of me, before quickly running towards Primera until he had her against the side of the roof, with one hand beside her head, and one hand slightly caressing her cheek.

What…?

"I don't really want to hurt a cute girl, so why don't we stop?" he asked her softly, smiling again and staring at her with his big, blue eyes.

I felt my own stomach sink.

My heart…?

"I-I'm so mad!" I heard Primera scream, sending another three notes into the sky, this time hitting Masayoshi and Mokona, cutting away at their ropes, and now they were falling, with the boy squealing in fright and Mokona being as delighted as ever.

I sweat-dropped, forgetting about the feeling in my gut as other more urgent things occurred.

As they fell, Masayoshi's kudan appeared and hung on to him desperately trying to protect its other half. And then, out of the blue Shogo's blue manta-ray kudan scooped them up and caught them.

I looked over to my right, and all along the path Shogo's Gang gathered, each with their own goggles and bandanas. Shogo, at the front looked mad and annoyed.

"What the hell are you doing, Primera?" He yelled, loud enough to be heard by all. Fai was beside me again, having let go of Primera right after the explosions. He was smiling again, his attention directed at Shogo.

That feeling was…

Primera called out his name, happy to see him.

His kudan let the two off on another one of the mini rooves, and Masayoshi thanked him greatly. At that moment, I felt a change in atmosphere as Mokona enlarged his eyes and jumped up saying "mekyo!"

Shogo and Primera then had a very loud conversation, about how she had stopped her concert to try and get his attention by trying to fight Syaoran, who she had heard he praised.

Wait, hold up. She caused all of this, just because she wanted to see Shogo?

Shogo seemed to be especially annoyed by what she said about his encounter with Sakura.

"I think it's about time we joined the others, nee~" Fai stated, turning to me and grabbing a hold of me.

I sighed. "Just don't drop me", I warned him coldly as he picked me up once again. But instead of the hold on me he had before, he decided to hold me bridal style.

"What…W-what're you..?"

"This way, I can't drop you~" he said cheerily, his sly smile playing on his lips as he jumped into the air, and slowly sailed down towards Kurogane and Syaoran. In the midst of it all, I had forgotten that they were here.

We landed softly, and he let me go without a fault.

"Thanks" I grounded out, turning away from him as soon as I saw him smile again.

Primera and Shogo were still going, Shogo becoming more annoyed with her, having expected her to understand how busy he is.

Mokona was bouncing around, trying to get our attention. "Syaoran, Syaoran!" she chanted, her eyes big to signify the presence of the feather.

Syaoran understood.

"So it really is in a kudan" Fai dead-panned, turning from Mokona to Syaoran.

"But why does the energy keep becoming stronger, and then weaker?" Kurogane asked, crossing his arms and watching us expectedly.

"Sorata said that a kudan becomes stronger when it's protecting its other half, so it will emit the most energy when it is protecting its companion" I answered, feeling my well-pool of knowledge knock back in logically, being something that Yūko had always taught me to use.

"So we have to fight whichever kudan it's in to find out which one" Fai finished, getting a faraway look in his eyes as he smiled.

Primera and Shogo seemed to have patched up their differences, and were once again conversing rationally.

I sighed in relief. At least that's over, now.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"A feather?" Shogo asked questioningly, staring at Syaoran as he explained what we were searching for.

"Yes, I want to check if Sakura's feather is inside your kudan"

"If we fought, you would get your answer, right?" Shogo asked, quick and to the point.

Syaoran nodded.

"I see" Shogo said, calling out his kudan.

"You have a strong heart, Syaoran-kun, resulting in a strong kudan, that's why I wanted to have a match against you, so let's have it out"

"Alright, then I accept your challenge" Syaoran agreed. He started to glow like fire, energy pulsing as a fiery fox climbed out of his heart and encircled its charge, ready for battle and guarding Syaoran protectively.

Shogo told his companions, and then the battle began in a flurry of water and fire, fighting for dominance. As the balls of energy whizzed past its mark, a boulder almost hit Syaoran, who quickly jumped into the air and was able to kick it, causing it to break away into little pieces as he landed smoothly on his knees.

"Looking good, Syaoran-kun" Fai praised, his hands in his pocket as he looked on, amused, as the two continued to battle.

"Well he's not always a softy, I have to admit" I added, feeling the power of the blasts send waves of wind everywhere, making my hair fly around me like a halo once more.

"That kid's probably been through a lot in his life so far, probably learning how to fight one way or another" Kurogane explained, in his usual gruff tone of voice.

The battle went on, with Shogo muttering her and there about Syaoran's strength.

With their battle, Hanshin Castle became even more damaged, until the whole building shook, making Primera scream and Masayoshi blanch.

And then, his kudan appeared, lifting him up and away from the falling-apart building. Mokona was screaming as well, holding onto the back of Primera tightly between her fury hands.

Masayoshi, looking determined, pushed himself away from his kudan and carefully approached the two, grabbing onto them when he did.

Without warning, the roof above them began to come crashing down, and I could feel a scream on my lips, to tell them to get away, but my lips wouldn't move. I was speechless.

And suddenly, as if powered by the strength of Masayoshi's will, his kudan grew, and grew, becoming big and strong enough to hold up the roof that was about to come falling onto them.

"That's Masayoshi's kudan" Fai stated, blowing his fringe out of his face.

"I know the sky's the limit with kudans, but this is ridiculous!" Kurogane growled, his annoyance clear with this words. Perhaps the whole kudan thing was too confusing for the single minded Kurogane.

"Mekyo! I found the feather, it's in that kudan!" Mokona jumped, happily from his perch upon the monument.

"I see. We finally found it" Syaoran muttered, smiling with relief having narrowed down the location of Sakura's feather.

I began to feel strange, my body starting to rock back and forth. I was getting tired, my vision clouding with black dots as I began to lose consciousness.

"Kurami-chan!" I heard Fai cry, as I felt myself fall towards the ground. But I didn't land on solid ground, someone had caught me.

Fai.

I kept myself awake long enough to see Syaoran jump to retrieve the feather from Masayoshi's giant kudan, and I was glad that he could finally attain a feather…

And then the darkness claimed me.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

_I was in a high-ceilinged room, a ballroom willed with expensive granite and marble that stretched out all the way towards the far eastern corner of the room. There was a big, chandelier above my head, made of unearthly jewels that I had never seen before. They were a deep, dark violet, and yet they were also bright, and enthused with light that it so delicately reflected._

_And then, inside the almost empty room, a small girl with long, raven dark hair and deep purple eyes danced into the room, followed by a girl of similar looks, however less striking, she was still beautiful. With lavender eyes less vibrant than the other girl, she also had dark hair that turned into waves around the ends._

_Both girls were wearing European styled long dresses, with frills and ribbons and lace._

_The around five year-old girl giggled, and she turned to the other smiling. "Tomoyo-oneechan, what are those purple stones up their called?"_

_The older girl by two years smiled. "They're called Rozen Violeto; they're the most expensive stones in the country. You know, you're named after it, my dear little sister Rozette" she smiled, hugging her little sister._

_"One day, you'll be tall and beautiful like mama, and then we'll fall in love!" She enthusiastically giggled, holding Rozette's hand._

_They then left through the door, enthusiastically dancing around like little girls as they paraded down the other hall. I followed them, watching as they passed that boy from my other vision, except younger at the same age as Tomoyo if not older. Loki…_

_Upon seeing each other, the smaller girl and the boy both blushed, scurrying away from each other._

_"Rozette, that's no way to act to Loki-sama. He is, after all your betrothed" Tomoyo scolded, once they had come to a distance where he would not hear them._

_The girl simply blushed harder. She was just too embarrassed. Especially since it was the boy she had been arranged to marry since birth…_

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

I awoke, my eyes fluttering open like a butterflies wings as I came back to reality. Un-like my other vision, this one had been a lot lighter and a lot less, eh, violent. And for that I was glad.

It was dark, and I heard voices. One was Fai's… another was Syaoran, and the other… a female's voice.

I shot up like a bolt.

"Ah~ It seems our other companion has finally woken up, this is-"

"I can introduce myself, Fai-san" I glowered, giving him a glare before smiling softly at the now awake Sakura who was staring around the room in wonder, before her eyes met mine.

"Nice to meet you, Sakura-hime, I'm Shizuko Kurami". For a moment, that name 'Rozette' flashed through my brain. Is that what I used to be called, in the time before?

She smiled, before being introduced to Mokona and the others.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Syaoran leave, subtly resigning from the introduction ceremony. He walked past Kurogane, and I could see Kurogane watching after him with worried eyes.

_ _ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

We were standing by the window, Kurogane, Fai and I. Outside, in the pouring rain of night-come; Syaoran was standing, covering his own tears with the rain, his own smile tainted with the weight of his price.

I knew this would happen…

"I thought he might cry… when that happened" Fai told us, softly, his tone gentle and calm.

"I wonder if he's crying now…" I wondered aloud in a toneless voice.

"Who knows? But, if he doesn't want to cry, he'll just have to become stronger, so that no matter what happens, he won't have to cry" Kurogane muttered.

"But… I also think it takes a certain type of strength to cry when you should" Fai intoned, his smile slightly faltering.

"I agree. The point is if you don't cry, you won't be able to have the strength to stop. So you cry, and you cry until you can't cry anymore. Strength doesn't always come naturally, it needs to be tested and stretched. One day… this boy will smile again. Even if the one you love forgets who you are… That feeling will always stay within that person, even if they must walk alone… forever"

Both Kurogane and Fai looked at me strangely as I looked out again at the boy being soaked by rain, his sadness consuming him in one gulp.

Yes… he will once again smile. Because he loves her, and because even if she doesn't remember, he does. Perhaps… that'll be enough until they create new memories…

I was once again reminded of the boy in my memories, Loki. I wonder… what exactly happened to make you… kill me?

And I wondered if there was ever the feeling of love in my heart, but could not recall. None. But when I closed my eyes, at the back of my lids, two bright blue eyes stared at me endlessly.

As if taunting me, they watch me, and it makes me shiver.

Just what exactly is happening to me?

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

The sun shone brightly; unknown birds chirped a call of farewell as we all stood in the street with our original clothes, ready to say goodbye.

Everyone was here to see us leave, the annoying gang members who had apparently been set straight by Sakura, Shogo and Primera, the Arisugawa's and Masayoshi, who had now become one of Shogo's members.

Sakura looked drained, still tired from her lack of feathers.

"Are you alright" I asked her, keeping my voice light as I did so.

She yawned slightly, and nodded her head back. "Yes, but I'm still a little tired"

I smiled. "If you ever aren't feeling okay, you can come to me, you know. You and I are the only girls here, so we have to stick together."

She laughed, like tinkling bells, giving me a quick "yes" before we said our final goodbye's to the people of this world.

"Mokona Modoki is totally excited! Hapuu~" Mokona worked her magic. The people of this world stared in wonder as we were all sucked into Mokona's mouth, and then transported into the swirling dark mass and glowing golden rings as we travelled between worlds.

Before I felt the tug of the next world, my kudan who had joined with me, appeared before me for the last time.

"Thank you" I told it, twitching my lips into a smile as it bowed to me.

_Take this with you, you will need these_ it spoke, handing me two silver claws that were as long and thick as knives, the same kind of claws that the kudan had.

"But…" I tried to decline, but it just shook its head.

These are for you, take them. I am honoured to have met a soul as strong as yours…

And then it was gone, swirling away through the pearly blackness, towards the warm gates of its own world in which it could not leave.

I sighed seeing the others floating in front of me, on the verge of being tugged away by powerful forces that bound us to a new world.

I looked back once, even though my kudan was long gone.

Thank you I silently said, hoping that the kudan could hear me.

And then I was falling, falling into a new world where Sakura's feather waited.

Waiting to be returned to its owner, to replenish all of those lost memories. Even though she would never remember Syaoran, I had a hunch that she would end up falling in love with him anyway. Regardless of memories, you can't lose an emotion that has already latched onto a person. You can't kill love once it has blossomed, not for them.

I just hoped I was right.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N WOOOOW, that was long! It took me hours to write, and gave me hand cramps, so you better review! X_X**

**Anyway, as you should've noticed, I did change a lot to suit my own needs, but hey it all worked out the same, right? And I got a bit of FaiXKurami in too! SO HAPPY!**

**Anyways, review. Mokona will sing a song!**

**-Maximum Dusk**


	5. Chapter 5: Blinded Paths

**A/N Hey, guys. Finally, after writing three chapters, I was able to finish the first world. I really don't want to have to write that many chapters per world, it's annoying and…You know what? I'm gonna try and see if I can shorten this world into two chapters, maybe even one if I'm lucky (unlikely). I do realize that I may make grammatical and spelling mistakes, but I am trying to shoot these out as soon as I write them so if it is annoying, I apologise. :P Another thing, I noticed that a lot of people read this, but only a really small portion of that overall amount actually review. Guys, how am I supposed to know if I should continue or not if you're not reviewing? Please don't be a silent reader, I need feedback and I really need to know if you think it's good or not. For those of you who have reviewed, THANKYOU!**

**Anyway, here's the chapter.**

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

The pull of the next world was strong, and before I could do anything, we were already falling, straight into small stall where we crash landed, each of us ending up in a pile of mess, the destruction having occurred because of our decent.

There were large pieces of rock, scattered planks of wood and a scattered piece of fruit here and there. Having landed kind of roughly, I envied the younger princess whom had actually landed quite softly compared to the rest of us. She was looking around in wonder, as the people of this world began to circulate around us and the mess, all with bewildered faces, and before long there was a shocked skirmish of whispers as people began to question exactly who we were, us being the anomalies in this crowd of people who all dressed as if from an ancient era somewhere in Asia.

"Couldn't you have landed us smoother?" I asked Mokona irritably, rubbing the back of my head as I sat up, having fallen rather roughly onto my back.

"Puu~ we have arrived in a new world!" Mokona cheered whilst evading my question, sitting in-between Fai and Kurogane who were as usual, a strange contrast. I myself was situated somewhere near Sakura, who was sitting neatly close to me, having avoided the big mass of destruction altogether.

"This isn't the world I came from" Kurogane sighed in annoyance.

"It doesn't seem to be mine either" Fai said in relief, his smile never faltering as the strange mass of people began whispering about his strange clothing, even about his irregular blonde hair and sea blue eyes.

The street was filled with small stalls, each selling some kind of fruit or vegetable or some kind of hand crafted object. The sky was a brilliant blue, with a few smeared clouds painting the sky in a swirly mass. And then that bright, blue sky was blotted out of my vision as a more ugly view came into focus. Suddenly, a tall and lanky man appeared before us, surrounded by nameless men with weapons, who all seemed to be following the strange and disturbing man. It was strange; there was just something off about him.

What could it be?

"What the hell? Where the hell did you come from?" the man stated grouchily.

"Uh, we're being stared at…" I muttered, feeling the eyes of the whole village upon us as the man became angrier. Mokona didn't seem in the slightest bit affected, instead smiling and saying: "Mokona is the centre of attention, teehee!"

"Teehee, my ass!" Kurogane growled, once again picking a fight with the white manjuu bun.

Only then did the strange man seem to notice Sakura and me, his eyes wandering our bodies in a disturbing manner. I shivered, as if I could feel his intent rise as he began to speak once more.

"Come with us" he ordered, grabbing both my own and Sakura's arms roughly. His grip burned; a scorching palm that was rough and coarse. It hurt, and I could hear Sakura beside me as she muttered about her own pain, one eye closed and scrunched with the burning of the man's hands.

Before he could take us any further, Syaoran had side kicked the man in the face, his foot leaving a scuff mark upon the undesirable man's face. The force of Syaoran's kick was strong, sending the man onto his back as he became winded, coughing a little as he landed roughly onto the dirty floor.

"You bastard! Who the hell do you think you just kicked?" The man growled, getting up from his fall. His men stood behind him, spears at the ready as the man stood, his back hunched and his face screwed up in anger. And also, I noticed, a puffy and red cheek where Syaoran's foot had connected with the man's face.

Syaoran stood in front of Sakura protectively, knowing that I could take care of myself far better than he could in this situation.

"You…" The man growled, edging towards us in a provocative manner. Sakura edged closer to Syaoran, feeling his angry aura as he was about to order his men to attack.

"Stop it!"

We all turned towards the owner of the voice. Atop a rather meek building with green tiles stood a young, annoyed looking girl with her medium length of black hair tied up into a high ponytail. Her grey eyes glared at the man as her arms crossed, her distain showing on her ageless face.

"Stop bothering people you don't know for no reason, you dumbass!" she lectured, her strong eyes never wavering.

"Chu'nyan… damn it, who the hell do you think I am?" He argued, praising himself and calling himself 'Oresama' as he explained about his lineage as the son of Lord or "Ryanban", who ruled this town called Ryonfi.

After a bit of argument on Chu'nyan's part, who had insulted the Ryanban, she was able to get the man to leave. After Syaoran checked if Sakura was alright, we all physically looked relieved.

We all stood, watching Mokona as she complimented Syaoran on his kick and copied him by kicking mid-air, before landing on Syaoran's shoulder with a giggle.

I snorted, watching Mokona jump around again. We all began to help the townspeople pick up the littered damage, focusing more on the wasted food and trying to decide whether each piece could be salvaged or not.

"Okay, that's all of it" I muttered, having placed all of the vegetables back into their crates without much of a fault.

"You're dressed so weirdly…" the girl from before commented, coming over to us with her hands filled with the vegetables of this world.

"Haha, she said you look weird, Kuro-rin" Fai joked.

"Kurogane's weird!" Mokona cheered, from her perch above Fai's head.

"If I'm weird, what the hell are you two?"

"Wait… could you guys be…"

She excitedly placed all of the vegetables back into the crates, before grabbing Sakura's hand, and grabbing mine with her other.

"Come with me!"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"Ah, where are we?" I asked, having found myself randomly whisked into a strange environment.

"My place" Chu'nyan exclaimed, sitting on her haunches as we all sat in a comfortable position.

"… Don't you guys have anything to say?" The girl asked, staring at us intently as if we were supposed to come out about something, as if we were hiding something important.

"Eh?"

"Nothing?" the girl persisted, launching towards us.

"Well we only just arrived here and met you…" Syaoran muttered, staring at the girl strangely. I didn't really blame him; if I hadn't have had my guard up, I probably would have looked at the girl strangely too.

"Are you sure that's all…?" Chu'nyan asked, listening intently as if we were supposed to say something. That something though, was a mystery to me as I sat quietly, waiting for this whole mess to come clean and explain itself.

"No, not really" I answered, taking the initiative as Chu'nyan sighed, and moved away, her head hanging a little low.

"I see… so you aren't. Now that I think about it, I guess kids like you wouldn't be Amen'osa" she mumbled to herself, seemingly having decided that we weren't what she thought we were, which was…?

Wait. Did she just call us kids?

"Amen'osa?" Sakura asked sleepily from her position beside Syaoran, her desert styled clothing rustling slightly as she turned a little, trying to stay awake even through her tired haze.

I relaxed a bit as Chu'nyan explained about the secret agents of her world named 'Amen'osa', and about the happenings of this world.

"That's Mito Koumon!" Mokona squealed, jumping about as the others watched on in confusion having no knowledge of the long-running TV drama. She was very excited, trying to explain the happenings of the show, which wouldn't work since none of the others in the group had TV's in their worlds.

Such a shame.

"I've been wondering for a while now… just what is that thing? Is it like a walking manjuu bun?" Chu'nyan asked, staring at Mokona in wonder.

"Mokona is Mokona!" Mokona said, jumping onto Chu'nyan in a scuffle. I laughed, watching as Mokona glomped the young girl.

"Mokona is, well… sort of like our mascot or maybe an idol" Fai tried to explain, sitting beside Sakura with a small smile on his face.

"Wah~ Mokona is an idol! Mokona is so popular!" she giggled, twirling around on her big foot, a large smile on her face.

"Well, I'm Fai. This is Sakura-chan, Syaoran-kun, Kurami-chan, and then we have Kuro-puu~"

"It's KUROGANE!"

"So you've been waiting for these 'Amen'osa' for a while now, huh?" I asked, catching onto the story quickly, even the way she talked about the Ryanban indicated her hate of him, the supposed hate and disruption quite evident in this town, and the fact that they were waiting for the secret government agents only supplied more evidence to my thesis. Apparently this 'Ryanban' was corrupt and abusing his position with an unknown force.

"Yes… he's the worst!" She scowled, her voice changing to a much more threatening tone as she spoke of him.

"My mother… he…"

The walls began to shake; even the bolt of the door began to tremble. "The wind?" I asked, standing up quickly and bracing myself as my dull purple cloak swung around me with the shaking of the walls and door.

"It seems so, let's see…" Kurogane also stood, as if to go and open the door.

"Don't go outside!" Chu'nyan yelled as Fai, too, stood up.

The door flew open, the strength of the wind too much to stand. Powerful winds filled the room, shaking everything in sight and blowing at all of us as if to bowl us over. The wind strengthened, becoming strong enough send me flying, my own body weight reduced by the lessened strength of my "soul", and I went crashing into Fai who grabbed be and braced his feet, stopping us both from falling over and landing hard onto the ground. He hugged me to his chest, covering me with his long arms; keeping me safe from the strong winds.

I could feel myself blush as I felt myself being squeezed into his chest, his beating heart resounding loudly into my ears.

What is this? Why does something like this always happen to ME?

I could hear crashing and clanging, and the sounds of ripping wood as the a part of the roof above us was ripped away by the powerful wind, a swirling mass of pushing hands, clawing out my skin as I was held even tighter to Fai.

"This wind… it isn't natural…" I was able to mutter, even my lips being pushed up against his chest. I felt him stiffen, his heart soar for one second before beating to the same, lazy rhythm.

What was that about…?

"The Ryanban, this is his doing!" Chu'nyan yelled over the rushing winds, her voice only just loud enough for us to hear.

It was so strong, as if the very house was the home of a great tornado prepared to send us all to the Land of Oz.

The wind berated us again, and this time Fai wasn't prepared for the strong wind that sent us flying backwards, my head hitting hard against the wall. I moaned, feeling as fall to the floor even through the strong winds.

"Kurami…KURAMI!" I heard my name being yelled, by the blond mage no less. But even one as strong as me cannot always come out unscathed. I internally swore, feeling black spots begin to grace my vision, blurring the image of Fai's horror filled face, his worried sparkling blue eyes.

And as I closed my eye, I cursed at the wind, the magical force behind it. That Ryanban… he was gonna get it…

And then nothing, as I once again, found myself surrounded by a never ending blackness that promised nothing but eternal skies as I fainted.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

I moaned, feeling a giant bruise at the back of my head. What happened again? Oh, right… that happened. I moaned once again, remembering the events that had taken place last… wait, what time is it? I opened my eyes, feeling the warmth of sunlit rays grace the tops of my toes, a warm kind feeling that sent a kind of good omen through what was left of my body. Okay… so that means it all happened last night. That alone gave me strength, the relief of not having to deal with ferocious winds making me sigh, content as the world seemed to come back to its regular pace.

Well… if I can say the world, since we are in another world.

I slowly got up, cringing when I felt a pulse of pain pound against my head, mainly focusing on the bump on the back of my head which could not be seen behind the long curtain of my long, silky pin-straight midnight locks.

So… what now?

I could hear loud, banging sounds coming from outside of the door, a strange olden styled wooden door which was probably common around this world.

As I took steps towards the door, I could hear an angry voice, probably Kurogane, who was yelling at someone, probably Fai or Mokona.

Fai… I felt myself flush, remembering exactly how I had hit my head.

Okay, so this wasn't the first time I had fainted, or randomly fallen unconscious. Just great, I thought. I really don't want to make a habit out of this… I mean, this was only the second world. Can't someone give me a break?

I found my way out of the room, probably Chu'nyan's I realized, leaving behind my warm, purple cloak as I paced around the house which was actually quite warm today, or more accurately just pleasant; the exact opposite of last night.

Oh, how things can change. How ironic.

As I came out into the main part of the house, the loud banging intensified.

"Why the hell do I have to fix someone else's house?" I heard Kurogane grumble, as he continued banging, holding a hammer in his hands as he continued to nail pieces of wood onto the tiled roofing, probably making the house look kind of rundown on the outside, I suppose.

"Well, she did let us stay the night, isn't this the least we could do, nee~ Kuro-rin?" I heard Fai tease as he handed up another piece of burly wood, ducking as Kurogane was about to hit him with his hammer for calling him with the childish nickname.

"It's kind of suspicious… the fact that she lives alone" Kurogane remarked, scowling as he yet again hammered more nails into the roof.

"Well, it may not be clear but the way she phrased it last night, doesn't it sound like her mother's dead?" I countered, making my presence known as I walked into the room, ignoring their shared look as they saw me, probably thinking the same thing. I scowled, feeling their blatant stares.

"What?" I asked, on edge, their odd glances putting me in a bad mood.

"It's not as if we don't want to see you this morning, Kurami-ko, but don't you think you should be resting after…" he trailed off, referring to my injury. I sighed, looking them both dead in the eye.

"If I wasn't okay, I would have stayed in Chu'nyan's room" I told them, making my way over to the where they were both situated.

"So, how long are we planning to stay here?" Kurogane asked, staring down at the both of us through the hole in the roof.

"Well, that depends on how long it takes to find Sakura-chan's feather, doesn't it?"

"Damn it, why does that manjuu bun always side with the brat?" Kurogane scowled, crossing his legs and taking a break from his work.

I sighed, knowing how single minded this ninja can be. "That princess is far more important than getting back to your own world. You do notice that the fact that Sakura-chan is so tired means that she needs more feathers? She doesn't have enough memories yet" I explained, leaving the room and heading towards the kitchen.

"She is nowhere near complete; there are still many more memories that need to be found before she can even begin to return back to the real Sakura-hime. But even then… she will never remember Syaoran. Those memories will never return, it was the price he had to pay to Yūko" I murmured, feeling their eyes on me as I left towards the kitchen.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

I'm not sure how I did it, but I was slowly able to boil some water, and after a long time I was able to find some tea-leaves. It boiled, and I poured the brew into the teapot, and collected cups. Behind me, I heard the door open as Fai entered the strange kitchen.

"Where did the others go?" I asked, referring to Syaoran, Sakura, Mokona and Chu'nyan. He smiled, his blond hair flopping into his eyes as he walked over towards the small almost floor levelled table.

"They went out for information" he answered simply, his smile growing even more fake.

I hated it. I hated his fake smiles.

I sighed, sitting down with the tea and handing him a cup.

He took the cup.

"You're pretty smart, aren't you Kurami-chan?" He asked, his hair covering his eyes so all I could see was his smile.

There was something wrong with that smile…

And then he threw the china cup at me. Just before it hit my head, I grabbed it out of the air as if it were nothing. I glared at him, one eyebrow raised.

"… And you're pretty fast too~" he stated cheerily, the dark aura I had just felt disappearing as his longish blond hair was flicked out of his ever-blue eyes.

I sighed, standing up roughly as I grabbed the tea set and prepared to leave the room and travel back towards Kurogane, who would no doubt start breaking something by himself if left alone for too long.

As I left the room, I heard Fai yell after me, "not to mention pretty! ~", in his usual overly happy tone.

I scowled, feeling the beat of my heart accelerate from the shock. What did that idiot think he was doing?

I had almost dropped the tea.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"Something happened, didn't it?" I asked, seeing the look on all of their faces as they arrived back to Chu'nyan's house, the girl herself looking especially upset. And something else…

Sakura and Syaoran were both wearing new clothes more suited to this world, and Syaoran was injured. Sakura tenderly took care of his wounds, washing away any dirt or blood, whatever came first.

Chu'nyan looked tired, and before she could sit down she handed me a bag. "Here, these are clothes to change into". I thanked her, and headed towards a room where I could get changed.

The clothes were light and cool, and easy to move around in. The whole thing was a light blue, a similar colour to Fai's eyes. It was short, twelve centimetres above my knees, and flaring out as a skirt. It was simple and basic, and I found that underneath the skirt of the dress, there were short pants attached which would go un-seen. The sleeves were also short, and the design reminded me of a short kimono, or perhaps like one of the Chinese dresses I had seen in my time.

I re-entered the room

"So it was that bastard again, huh?" Kurogane asked having pretty much understood what had happened. "After all this time, and after what that guy has done, why hasn't anyone tried to beat him?"

I sighed.

"We've tried, at every possible time, but the Ryanban's unstoppable; untouchable. We've even tried to break into the castle that he has created for himself, but no matter how many times we try we can never get in. The place is said to be impenetrable, with magical forces so strong that no one can break in" Chu'nyan explained.

Mokona nodded, "there's too much mysterious power around here that Mokona can't track Sakura's feather!" she exclaimed, shaking her head sadly from her vantage point on Kurogane's burly shoulder.

"What exactly is the magic that he's using?" Fai wondered, smiling like an idiot as usual.

"I'm not sure… He uses it to protect himself and reinforce his will on the people. All I know is that, apparently a year ago he suddenly received a lot of power" Chu'nyan explained.

"Could it have something to do with Sakura's feather…?" I wondered, staring at the princess as if she'd know. She smiled weakly in my direction before she once again set off heal Syaoran's sounds.

"But didn't she lose her memories just recently? How could he get the feather a year ago then?" Kurogane asked.

"Time flows differently between worlds" I answered, reciting what Yūko had told me a long time ago. Along with a lot of other things…

"I will go check" Syaoran said, standing up as if ready to leave.

"But Syaoran-kun, your injuries…"

"I'm fine. If the Ryanban has your feather, I will retrieve it"

"But…"

"Hold on. Even if you went now, Syaoran-kun, you'd have no way to get into the castle. You have to break the shield spell surrounding it first" I told him, forcing him back down towards Sakura with a gentle shove.

"How do we do that?" Kurogane asked irritably.

"Let's ask Yūko!" Mokona suggested, and almost a second later, a projection of the Dimensional Witch appeared before us, a glowing haze of magic that connected with the black Mokona.

"Ah, Kurami, what is it?" she asked, looking at me intently as I explained what we were planning to do, and how.

"I see" she intoned, "so you need something to break that powerful barrier. But don't you have that mage with you, can he not cast spells?"

"I gave you the core of my powers" Fai answered, lying as he did so.

"That mark was not the core of your powers; it worked as a magical suppressor" Yūko deadpanned, sensing the lie, and also remembering the power capabilities of the phoenix like mark.

He still smiled, his painfully happy façade staying in place without a fault. "Sadly, I have a rule to not use magic without it"

She nodded in understanding.

"I will give you what you need, but there is a price" she told the group, knowing that I had already known this from the start.

"Will this staff do?" Fai asked, lifting his beautiful staff that probably used to be used for powerful acts of power. Now it lay unused, as its owner refused to use magic, for that reason.

"That will suffice. Give it to Mokona" Yūko instructed.

Mokona opened her mouth wide, and swallowed the sceptre in one easy gulp, her eyes opened wide. After a few moments, she spat out ball sized sphere, something magical, but black and dirty. Syaoran caught it, and held it in his hands.

"So this will break the barrier"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"Are you sure it's okay just to leave her?" Fai asked, as we walked through the night-fallen town that was now only lit by the light of the moon, and the surrounding stars.

I whacked him upside the head.

"You really are mean, Kura-ra~"

"Baka. Didn't you say earlier that it would be troublesome? Don't counteract your words. She'll be fine; things are as they should be" I explained, my voice going soft.

Just before we had left, I had collected the claw-like weapons that my kudan had given me from the last world. They were sharp, and long, perfect for my kind of fighting. They would work for me better than any katana, no matter how good I am at fighting with swords. They just worked with me, as if I was made for the purpose of using this weapon. And I knew, having been raised by Yūko, that this was no coincidence.

And so I had taken to it in two strides.

The other two were now wearing their new clothes, which would apparently be better for wear in this country. I fingered the hem-line of my blue dress, still feeling bitter about the fact that it was something I usually wouldn't wear.

We arrived at the large stone bridge that led to the castle, and hesitantly took steps closer to the castle and its gate. Syaoran held out the ball, the black smoggy mist inside swirling around as he shifted it between his hands.

"Well then, it's about time we used the thing we received from the space-time witch" Fai commented, with Mokona sitting on his shoulder.

"And how the hell do we use that thing?" Kurogane asked, his usual gruff tone back after a day of slight hibernation, at least since this morning.

"Throw it" Mokona instructed.

Syaoran turned round in confusion.

"Eh?" He asked.

"Throw it as faaaar as you can, as close to the castle as you can get!" Mokona told him, her mouth open wide as she extended the 'far'.

"Will it reach?" I asked, sceptical.

"That won't be a problem" Syaoran told me, smiling slightly before throwing the black mass into the air. When it appeared once more at eye-level, he kicked it.

With very little strength, the black ball was able to hit the barrier, and with the intruding magic the powerful barrier protecting the castle began to shatter, magical shards of a mirror-like substance as if the whole castle was protected by a strong sheet of glass.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

We walked along the dark passageway, the walls exactly the same on each side. We'd been walking for a long time, long enough for my feet to start getting tired.

And it still all looked the same.

"It's all and good that we got in, but just how long is this hallway?" I asked irritably, feeling myself get more and more anxious about my surroundings. This wasn't right, this was taking too long. The darkness was also starting to get on my nerves again.

And something in the air was wrong, some kind of ominous feeling sending chills up my spine.

We stopped, staring around at exactly the same walls we had just passed.

"Wah~, are you tired already Kurami-chan? Are you okay?" Mokona asked, concerned as she sat perched above Fai's shoulder, who was standing behind me.

"I'm fine. We've just been walking along this hallway for too long. There's no end in sight. Something just feels wrong" I told them, my voice clipped. I'm not sure why, but ever since we had started this journey, the dark seemed a whole lot more… menacing.

It's probably something coming back from _the time before_, but what exactly caused this irrational fear, I wasn't sure.

I shivered again, feeling the darkness caress my cheek with soft, cold kisses that bit away at my flesh.

"Are you alright Kurami?" Fai asked, leaning against me with his head on my shoulder, similar to what he did in Hanshin. "You're acting strange… it reminds me of that time when we were near the harbour whilst trying to get Sakura-chan"

He leaned closer, his lips near my ear once again.

"Are you… scared?"

The words shocked me, making me feel as if he were mocking me. But something in his eyes told me he wasn't.

For once, his eyes were very serious, gazing at me as if I were as fragile as glass about to break.

But I wasn't.

I shrugged him off, turning around and giving him a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, I'm not afraid" I told him.

_Lies._

"And there was nothing strange about that time in Hanshin"

_Lies._

"We're back where we started" Syaoran said.

"How do you know that? It all looks the same, and we didn't turn around" Kurogane asked, confusion evident as he watched Syaoran bend over and kneel towards the floor.

I saw him pick up a white bead. "I thought something was off, so I dropped this a little while back" he explained. Smart.

"Hyuu~ Syaoran is sugoi!" Fai praised. I raised an eyebrow.

"What's with that 'hyuu' thing, mage?" Kurogane asked, quite irritated with our partners choice of words for the occasion.

I had also been wondering, ever since I had heard it the first time back in Hanshin.

"That's because I can't whistle" Fai chuckled, a light gentle laugh that hid a tiny smirk. It made me flush, and besides the odds I was glad that it was too dark for anyone to see.

"Hyuu~" Mokona copied, liking the sound immensely.

"DON'T YOU START TOO!" Kurogane yelled, feeling all too annoyed with the both of them.

It somewhat made me laugh, as quiet as a whisper, and for some reason I had a feeling that Fai smiled.

I stopped to focus for a minute, feeling my earing chime against my ear. _Hidden magic_. I turned, facing the wall it was coming from.

I gave Fai a look.

"Can you feel that?" I asked, now noticing the magical power surging from the wall. He faintly nodded, and leaned the palm of his hand against the wall, and closes his eyes, the long eyelashes tickling his face.

I felt my ear chime again as Fai's hair floated around his face a bit, the residue of using a small portion of magic called 'intuition' to tell whether the wall was significant.

"Hmmm… Perhaps it's behind here…" Fai wondered, opening his eyes, and motioning for me to try.

"Is the Ryanban behind there?" Kurogane asked curiously, probably noticing how Fai had used a small thread of magic to sense other things.

I placed my own palm against the wall, and I could feel a large surge of power. As I searched the aura, my own hair began to float a bit around my own head. This was about the only magic I could do without lifting the seal earing, and I couldn't risk it for the sight that people would see if they looked upon me. The earring was a cloaking spell woven with strong magic into a silver shell. The only way you could tell it was a seal was the markings, mirroring the intricate design on my back which worked as another type of seal. With the earing, and the tattoo mark on my back, I was able to conceal my presence even to the most powerful of being.

But if I let go of my earing, half of the seal would be gone and I wouldn't be able to conceal my presence to others, or in my case, lack thereof; not to mention the floating blue crown above my head that was concealed within the magic of both seals.

"I'm not sure" I concluded, moving my hand away from the wall.

"But there is a strong power behind that wall" Fai extended, removing his own hand from the cold, desolate wall.

"I thought you weren't going to use magic" Kurogane remarked, aiming his sharp words at Fai. How observant of him…

"That wasn't magic just now, it was more like intuition" Fai explained.

"It only uses a small portion of magic discharge, which doesn't really call for magic" I explained further, feeling Kurogane had still yet to understand.

Fai nodded in agreement.

"Here" Fai said, giving Kuro-rin a hammer, "use this to break the wall."

"I don't need this; I've got a far better way of breaking down this wall"

Kurogane punched the wall, one strong fist flying, and without even another hit there was a spider web of cracks, falling away from each other until there was a hole in the wall.

Inside, there was one light, coming from an un-known source above. Behind a sheath of silky curtain, a form sat, hidden slightly by the darkness.

"Jackpot!" Mokona cheered in triumph, being as cute at the wrong time as ever.

"Somebody's here" I warned, feeling on edge as I felt a strong magical presence surround the being behind the curtain.

She came into light, the figure behind the curtain, revealing a beautiful and deadly woman similarly dressed to Yūko. Her grey hair was being held up by some kind of metal hair ornament that looked like birdcage containing her thick, silver strands. The metal cage came to base at the top of her hairline, like a mask or a headband, something extravagant like a crown. From the lower part of the ornament, pieces of metal dangled like teardrops, with blue and purple gems here and there.

She had thin eyes, as if she always kept them half lidded to keep out the sunlight, and a mark above her eyebrows, like a tattoo. She had small, dainty lips, and her nails were long like claws.

"Welcome, little insects" she called us, her voice mature and full of power, like Yūko's, but then again lacking that ancient wisdom that Yūko had.

"Who the hell are you?" Kurogane asked, as rude as ever, her presence not wavering him as he spoke strongly.

"Considering you are an insignificant little insect with a lifespan of less than a hundred years, you'll need to watch your tongue, human" she warned, her voice becoming venomous and insulted as she drew annoyance from Kurogane's words.

"But then again, I haven't had any guests in a while, I shall let that slide. For now."

"What are you going on about? Just tell us where the Ryanban is" Kurogane asked.

"Kurogane, watch your language. I don't trust her" I warned him, feeling his anger rise at my choice in words.

"Kuro-pyon is so moody, and yet such a shy person. Kawaii~" Mokona sighed, smiling just like Fai as they both acted as if we weren't in a bad situation. Again.

"Shut the hell up, both of you"

Syaoran stepped forward, oblivious to all of the comments that Mokona and Kurogane were making.

"There's something we're looking for that may be inside this castle, is there any way you could tell us where the lord is?" He asked; his face serious and his eyes set, showing all of his determination and strength in one glance.

"I like the look in your eyes" she commented, extending her long fingers as a way to showcase her long, claw-like fingernails.

The woman stood, the only sound coming from the chiming of the teardrop mettle pieces hanging off of the cage like ornament.

"However, I am unable to answer that question. I am also unable to let you pass"

"So to keep us here, you will revert to doing violent things?" Fai asked, smiling as if there was no tomorrow; which there wouldn't be, if we didn't get past this woman.

She laughed a slow menacing laugh. "Of course" she answered, "though it wouldn't affect you, now would it?" She asked me, her voice lilting on the last word. She was looking at something a few centimetres above my head, as if something were there…

I scowled. How could she see it? She couldn't be that strong. No one is.

_Just be glad it's me seeing it, and not your blond friend over there_, she smoke into my mind, smirking as she did so.

The others were looking at me, but as soon as the woman was addressing all of us again, it was as if they had heard none of what the witch had said to me.

With one flick of a hand, we were transported to an alternate world created by her own magic. We were standing above stone poles jutting out of water far down below, and there were many more stone poles around us. The sky above us was swirling like a nebula, a deep blue and black that slithered through the sky like a snake. Giant floating bubbles hung around us, an unearthly pink colour that glowed in its own, subtle way. They moved around at moderate speed, enough to see and track, but not caterpillar slow. My earing was ringing, warning me.

The witch was close to the water, in a small area like a mini shrine; just a small roof and poles to hold it up. She sat leisurely, watching as we all came to terms with our new surroundings.

"An illusion?" Kurogane wondered, to the pole on my right as I stood in-between Fai and the ninja, with Syaoran on Fai's other side.

"No, not quite, this is the work of the hidden arts. Illusions are used only to full the eye, but… my spells aren't just beautiful" she intoned, and then with another flick of her wrist, sent one of the glowing bubbles towards Syaoran. Syaoran instinctively covered his face, intending to block it, but instead it exploded on impact, and then turned into acid that burnt away the sleeve of his shirt.

The others showed signs of being shocked, having not anticipated it. I on the other hand, had already been warned by my well spring of knowledge, the sensory like system that chimed in my ear and told me the secrets of the world. It told me that this wasn't an illusion, that danger posed in every air-space. And so I had known, but was not quick enough to get him to dodge.

"Any injuries caused here are real, unlike any illusion"

"So if we get hit by the acid to many times, we will get injured~" Fai clarified.

"You will die" the witch added. With another flick of her hand, any bubbles flying near began to go straight for us.

I jumped, dodging the onslaught of acid, spiralling through the air until I landed on another pole, and so it went on. The others were doing the same, sometimes easily, and at other times only just barely.

I saw Syaoran land on a pole that disappeared and his foot ell into the water before he was able to jump out. But even in that second, it was evident from the rising steam that the water was also acid.

"Things you see may not always be real" the witch warned, describing the water as the same substance as the bubbles.

"Kuro-min, break this lamppost for me" Fai instructed, telling him how this way, they could burst the bubbles without touching them.

I took their initiative, and when I safely landed on a stone pole once more, I unsheathed my metal claws, grabbing onto the handle and feeling the claws fit snugly, like metal fists.

I jumped through the air, and scraped a bubble with it. The bubble exploded, sending a few droplets of acid onto my sleeve which started to erode, and peel away. When I looked again, to my relief, my claw was still intact. Even though I'd get a bit sprayed, it was worth it.

As three were going after Syaoran at once, Kurogane jumped in front of him, and with two clean strokes, he bubbles were taken care of.

"Ah, Kura-chan, how are you doing?" Fai asked, jumping towards me as he dodged.

I rolled my eyes, cutting a bubble with my right claw as it came at me, my left hand being used to hold me up as I jumped from place to place.

"Alright" I answered, jumping onto the pole next to his.

"Where'd you get those?" He asked curiously, referring to my silver claws, a strong metal that was almost indestructible.

"Kudan" I answered, as another bubble came for me. I jumped to the left, onto another stone, when my foot slipped; falling through thin air as if the stone wasn't there.

_Not all you see is real…_

With quick reflexes, I was able to ram my claw through another stone just before I hit the acid below; save for my left hand that hadn't missed the lake, and had instead hit the water roughly, enough to injure it with a red, blistering welt. I hissed in a breath, feeling it sting and burn away at my skin.

"Kurami-chan!" Fai called, his head bending down to look at me, having seen me fall. His eyes widened as he saw my blistered hand, and dropped the end of his pole down to fish me out.

"Grab onto this" he instructed, his face unsmiling as I hissed once again, moving my left so that I could pull my right claw out of the stone and grab onto the pole with my right hand. He hoisted me up carefully, being careful to dodge bubbles as he did so.

When I was up atop a stone again, I sighed and felt the tension ease a bit.

"Why are you always the one saving me?" I asked slightly irritated.

"I just happen to always be around" he smirked, making me scowl at him. I resisted the urge to physically hurt him.

"Can't you just thank me and get over it?"

"Thanks" I told him, pulling up my emotionless mask once again as I pretended that my arm didn't hurt. But it was nothing, not compared to what I knew I had already gone through in the past, and so I was able to hold it in, for now.

He grabbed me roughly, shoving me behind him as a row of bubbles came towards us. With a few quick batting moves, they were gone, and he turned around to face me.

"That looks bad" he commented, lifting my arm to better inspect it. I shrugged him off, not wanting to trigger anymore pain from that area.

"I'm fine, it doesn't hurt that much" I told him, using my good right hand to claw away at another bubble that was floating dangerously close.

He looked solemn, but nodded. I could see that he didn't want to leave it, but took my cue anyway.

"You're injured too…" I murmured, motioning to a hole in the side of his right sleeve, droplets of blood seeping through and staining the cloth.

He smiled, "It's nothing, and I'm fine"

"That's what I told you, but you didn't believe me, did you?" I asked feeling his eyes probe mine. After a second, he gave up and we both edged back towards the other two, resigned and a bit on edge with each other.

There was a tension, for what exactly, I wasn't sure. But it was there, lurking beneath the surface of reassuring smiles that were only edged with a bitter lie. We had both said we were fine, but we weren't.

_We had lied._

And it was then, that I noticed that the magic was weakest at the top, which meant… just maybe…

"Syaoran-kun, both you and Kura-chan have to go on ahead. Take Mokona with you" Fai told him, staring at me with those blue eyes of his.

"But we haven't finished our battle here yet" Syaoran yelled, making sure that we could hear him clearly.

"Yes, however I don't see much of a difference with only two people instead of four" Fai explained, "You're both injured, so you should get out now whilst you still have feeling in your limbs. You have something you must do, Syaoran-kun, and if you have Kura-kura with you, I'm sure you'll make it" he smiled, sending chills down my spine.

"But…" I argued, feeling myself trying to fight whatever he was telling me to do.

"Just go, and protect him" he ordered me, his eyes taking on a serious glint yet again tonight, "I don't want to see you get hurt down here again"

I scowled, hating him for being a gentleman.

"Fine" I growled, "but you better catch up soon" I warned, giving him one of my strongest glares, before complying with what he wanted us to do.

"And don't worry, Kuro-pin will take care of this somehow" He directed at Syaoran, smiling again, switching from serious to cheerful within a few seconds.

Of course. His concern was just a hoax, part of his charade. He had, after all, switched so easily between two roles, his fake concern mixed with his cheerful attitude, a mask to hide his true feelings and intentions.

And for some reason, it hurt, just slightly.

Kurogane growled, "when did it become just me?"

"Thankyou" Syaoran said, saying it to them, before thanking me for accompanying him.

"Didn't I say it before, kid?" I told him, "stop being so formal. We're traveling together, right? And I'm helping, so you can stop thanking me"

"The magic is a little weaker at the top" Fai explained, pointing towards the cloudy sky. "You can probably get out from there" he explained.

"It's so high…" Mokona commented, her head popping out from Syaoran's shirt. WHERE DID SHE COME FROM?

"Can you guys make it?" She worried, her face not smiling as she looked warily at the sky.

"It is high…" I mirrored Mokona, staring at the sky strangely as I was able to pinpoint the spot where the magic was weakest.

"It'll be okay" Fai assured me, his bright blue eyes shining.

"I do not know what you are discussing, but please do not bore me with your inability to withstand my power, little children" the witch called, reminding us of her presence.

"Why the hell do I have to do this?" Kurogane asked as Syaoran jumped down from a higher rock pole with me in his arms, (which I was NOT happy about) and landed onto Kurogane's piece of the lamppost. With one strong push, he had sent us flying off of the pole, and towards the misty, cloud filled sky. He changed his angle at the last minute, and angled a kick to the ceiling, successfully cracking the least powerful piece of the sky and shattering it into pieces, like shards of a mirror reflecting its surroundings.

And then we were through, almost completely out of the witch's nightmare.

The last thing I saw as we left through the opening, were a pair of blue eyes. His eyes. Except they were strange. What was it? There was a strange emotion in his eyes as he watched us leave, the big gaping hole in the sky the only reminder of our escape, of our absence.

What was in his eyes? Was it sadness? Was it anger? Was it… envy?

I didn't know. I never would. Not through those mysterious blue eyes, that masks the pain. The eyes that had seen terror, and pain, and sadness like no other person.

And through these eyes, he watched, as we sailed away, and he was left behind.

And yet, he smiled. Because those two… were safe.

For now…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N Okay, so that's a wrap. Again, it took me hours, so you should be all proud! It's another long chapter, filled with a few grammar mistakes, and spelling mistakes no less. But ah, well. It's still alright, isn't it? I did put a bit of FaiXKurami, so I hope you guys are satisfied. So, yeah. I do plan to update another chapter this week, but after that the updates will become slower cause I go back to school T_T. Well, it can't be helped.**

**If there's anything you want added to the story, I don't mind listening to your ideas though I already have the plot set out. Like if you want more or less KuramiXFai, etc. As I said above, please don't be a silent reader, please review! If I don't get reviews, I will never know whether to continue or not, and Mokona will be sad.**

**Mokona: Waaah~ Max Dusk is saying that she might have to stop stocking up on cookies. NNOOOOO~~~~Not my cookies!**

**MD: Sorry Mokona, but if I can't get cookies, because I'm too busy moping around waiting for reviews, what am I meant to do?**

**Mokona: NOO~ Please, review, I need more cookies. *omnomnom***

**MD: Are you eating the cookies again, Mokona…?**

**Mokona: …Yes…**

**MD: *sigh*, geez, how can you eat that many cookies at once? What are you?**

**Mokona: Mokona is Mokona! ~**

**MD: … *sweat drop***

**Anyway, review~**

**-Maximum Dusk**


	6. Chapter 6: Embers of a Distant Flame

**A/N Okay guys, thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound really upset or anything, I just wanted reviews. Sorry for worrying you guys ;P Anyways, now that I'm back at school, I can only update once a week, maybe twice if I'm not too busy. I have taken into account all that I need to improve on, and hopefully I'll be able to make this story more enjoyable. There's no need to worry, I'm not going to quit writing this, as far as I can see. And yeah, I know the beginning is A LOT like Canary's song, and I'm sorry to the person who wrote it, cause I really needed that kind of beginning for this story to work. If Kurami wasn't with Yūko, my whole story would fall apart. So, gomenasai! **

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

The room was dark, perhaps clean in a way; not like a dungeon or anything from a fake Hollywood movie. No, the room was just dark for lack of light, for there was none: no fire, no candles, no stars or moon to lighten the path before me. No, just a shred of light illuminating the room, the source unknown, and even with the small light source, most of the area around me was still dark and enshrouded in shadows, kissed by the darkness that covered the room like a velvet robe, the room wearing it in spite of me who had just awoken in the room, or so I thought.

What had happened?

And then I felt small strands of fur against my cheek, fine and light. A very familiar feeling for me, the girl who had been raised at the shop.

I sat up, feeling the small white furry creature begin to stir, probably having been knocked out by the weight of my hard back.

"Ah~ where are we, Kurami-chan?" Mokona whined, rubbing her head with a soft mitten paw where the cause of her pain lay. "Where's Syaoran?"

Syaoran…?

And then my memories came to light. The force of us crashing through the roof had unsettled us, and as we flew through the air towards the ground, I had been thrown off by the force, with Mokona flying soon after. We crashed into the floor, I can't remember where, and the force of our hit sent us rolling, entangled, towards a rock hard and sturdy wall, that no doubt was the cause of our unconsciousness.

I really have to stop getting knocked out, no matter how rough it may get. I had my promise to Yūko, to protect everyone… and I almost always ended up being saved by the others, or finding myself unconscious after multiple injuries and other occurrences, that usually, would only happen to those with the smallest amount of luck.

And here I am, with a white manjuu bun: separated from the boy I was charged to protect.

"We'll have to look around, Mokona" I told her, finding my feet and hissing when I tried to push myself up with my sore, burnt hand. It stung, like millions of coarse weeds and rose-thorns, scratching at my skin whilst a fire seemed to stir beneath my cold skin.

I shivered, feeling a draft around my uncovered legs.

It's cold…

Mokona jumped onto my shoulder, having recovered properly. She giggled, covering herself in my curtain of hair, and seemed to find it rather funny to drape a long, black lock against her jewelled forehead and pretend that she had hair.

I smiled, even laughed at the prospect.

This immature manner of things had always been a bit lenient with me, and I had always been rather serious unless around Yūko. Memories of a nine-year-old-me flooded my mind, pictures of a giggling Mokona, and me smiling, softly, having at the time found it rather difficult to feel anything, other than remnants of a life which I couldn't remember. Mokona, being Mokona, was one out of three people who could ever make me forget about that chained abyss I had created out of my own painful feelings. Mokona, in a way, had always been there for me, despite her irritating nick-names and childish ignorance. She reminded me that I, too, was a child.

No matter how old I felt, despite what I am…

I walked, with my body tense for movement, along the long corridors of the castle. The walls were cold, and the floor beneath by bare feet was also cold, having lost my shoes earlier during the crash. I rubbed my arms, trying to spread some warmth into my body, feeling Mokona shiver beneath my curtain of hair.

It was all too dark, the earlier slight glow having gone out and died. Even though my eyes were now used to the imminent dark, there was little I could see, little I could focus my eyes on. And it was quiet, as if the walls themselves prevented any sound.

My legs kept on walking, traveling towards an unknown location.

My ear chimed. Ringing bells were going off, my mind flooding with a distinguished anxiety. I bristled, looking in every direction, but of course everything was black, an endless tunnel of shadows and ebony.

Something wasn't right…

I turned once more, feeling a presence behind me. But there was no one. My wellspring of knowledge was tingling, warning me of an unseen danger that was bound to cross our path. I looked ahead again, and saw a wooden door not too far up ahead. And, I noticed, there was a pool of light flooding out through the crack of the door, however faint.

Some kind of heat seemed to radiate from that room, warming me up from the cold which had made me shiver and tingle with anxiety. And yet this warmth, too, held unknown dangers…

"There's light up ahead~" Mokona cheered, relaxing against the side of my cheek as I edged closer, feeling the bells ring louder as we got closer.

There was something behind that door, something dangerous… But I couldn't just leave it, even if I had just ignored it I doubt that the power the Ryanban was using would let me off that quickly. And if I was able to defeat whatever this thing was… it would be easier to find the Ryanban, or to get back to Syaoran.

I edged closer, feeling Mokona peel away my black hair rom her face. She held on tightly, her small mitten hands grabbing onto the side of my face in preparation for whatever was behind the door. I gripped the doors handle, a small slither of polished brass, and tentatively turned the knob and pushed it open, and hushed Mokona as I entered the room.

The ceiling was high, taller than any ceiling I had seen before, transforming the room into a kind of tower, high and slim with pieces of wood jabbing out of the walls and scaffolding at odd lengths, and in unexpected places. The room was lighter, filled with the overshadowing of the moon and stars that shone brightly in through the hole in the room. The floor was slated with planks of strong, burly wood that faintly resembled a dark brown hue. Throughout the tall, proud room, giant pillars faintly painted green stretched towards the sky, each pillar reaching different lengths in a losing race to reach the heavens, chunks of splintered wood curving like hands towards the moon, and the stars, as if at any moment they could touch the sky.

I closed the door, hearing it click quietly as the silence of the room buried me in a pit of unearthliness, as if death had shrouded the scene and any other living being, any sound, could not trespass here in this forbidden place.

A sudden foreboding tickled at the back of my consciousness, joining my ear in its tingling, a warning of danger, something imminent and malicious.

I heard something snap above me, and I spun, feeling a dangerous presence as a ball of fire swept past the spot I had been in moments before. Mokona hid under my hair, trying to stay out of the fight that was bound to take place, an obvious and definite occasion as constant as hitsuzen.

Above me, upon one half snapped plank of odd wood, stood a figure enshrouded in tongues of fire as it licked at its heels, a mass of clawing flames clinging to the form of a person I had never seen before.

The figure was tall, with a lanky build and short shoulder-length red hair, strands of fiery flame that looked as if they were about to ignite. Her hair swarmed around her head, as buzzing pieces of ash and embers floated towards the ground, towards me as I stood wonderingly, with eyes wide open.

It wore long lengths of floaty material, ethereal, a warm orange and gold that shone brighter than the moon, something which I should have noticed when I entered the room. But I hadn't seen. And that was one of the more obvious factors that pointed to what this thing was.

A fire spirit.

It lowered its head, revealing its vibrant yellow eyes, and thin red lips that bore fangs. It hissed, its voice somewhat female.

She raised a hand from the swirling mass of fire, her hand glittering with embers as a pale hand with long, golden nails that gleamed and shone like a miraculously sharp blade.

And then she spoke.

"_Your shell withers" _she hissed, her voice like the licking flames at her heals, _"and yet you come to seek the feather of the Ryanban"_

I growled, sensing the anger in her voice.

"I guess that means you won't tell me where he is, huh?" I asked, keeping my voice as emotionless as usual, and I stepped forward, my body ready for any signs of sudden movement.

She smirked, a crack of red against her pale face, and her nostrils flared indignantly. _"You guess right, child of non-existence"_

I jumped, feeling the heat roll across the back of my feet, having sensed the flames as they hurtled towards my head. I dodged, feeling another roll of fire, and jumped from one of the splintered pillars, ignoring the pain in my feet as I did so. I flew, twirling slightly into the air before landing lightly upon one of the out-crop pieces of wood jutting from random places in the walls.

She frowned, her eyes narrowing at me similarly to the witch from before. She was not human, instead a creature that was rare in most worlds, a type of spirit that was even extinct in some. So few were left, and even fewer were found that would actually obey anyone's orders.

I unsheathed my claws one again, having kept them close during the fall before. Three, long edged claws of a type of metal I had never seen before. To my understanding, it was some kind of manifestation of part of the kudan's power, or even part of its true self.

I saw another jet of fire come this way, and quickly deflected the fire by cutting it away with the blades, for which the fire had split apart and diminished. I scowled, jumping away from the platform as an even stronger blast of fire sailed through the air towards the area.

I growled, dropping to the floor and running quickly across the expanse of the room, and then pushing off of a pillar and back into the air, angling myself towards the fire spirit. I swiped at the flames, extinguishing them as I aimed to cut her throat, but missed when she deflected my attack with her golden nails, and felt a stinging at my cheek as a sharp nail travelled across my face.

I swore, jumping away and landing on a nearby platform. I wiped away the blood from my cheek and glared at her, dodging another flame as I attacked, my claws at the ready for hand-to-hand battle. I swiped her, my wolverine caws cutting her stomach as I flew past her, and turned once more before aiming another hard blow around her chest with my feet as I fell away, ignoring my protesting legs as they stung with the heat of the flames and the heart of the spirit.

The flame spirit shrieked, holes of pure fire leaving injuries against her fake human skin. Blood streamed from the injuries, splattering the surrounding wood with scorching droplets of dark red blood. She launched from her spot, flying towards me with a rage as bright as the flames surrounding her. I parried a blow, and protected my injured hand from any further pain.

She pushed me backwards, sending me crashing into a big, wooden pillar that then splintered and broke with the force. I felt the pain in my back, bruises and cuts probably littering my back with scars and crimson blood, a wide expanse of carnage and pain long gone. I felt Mokona call my name, clinging to my hair with a vice grip, trying her best to stay with me and away from any possible danger.

Using the falling pillar as a distraction, I backed away and then aimed a strong right kick into the side of the green pillar, sending the slightly aflame pillar in the direction of the fire spirit.

She shrieked, and couldn't dodge the giant hunk of wood as it toppled, like a spinning top, and hit her with such a force that she crashed into a wall, the pillar soon following her. Flames distorted the whole tower-like room, adding a kind of red haze as the fire spirit's own, dark blood splattered against multiple walls as she was crushed by the wood.

I relaxed slightly, feeling Mokona loosen her hold on my long, midnight, straight hair.

"Kurami-chan…"

"Mokona, you need to get out of here" I told her, feeling the fire spirit's presence ignite once more beneath the pressure of the wooden beam.

"But…" Mokona protested, her ears flattening out as she worriedly looked at me with concern.

"Go find Syaoran-kun, and make sure he doesn't get too hurt. That kid needs you way more than I do, Mokona. Just go" I urged her, lifting her from my bare shoulder, the sleeve having been burnt off by the fire, and then ripped off by the force of a blow. I placed her on the floor, my long black hair covering my face whilst my blue dress swayed with the heat of the flames.

Mokona edged towards the door, looking back at me as if I were about to disappear.

"But Kurami-ko…"

"Go, Mokona! Hayaku!* (hurry)" I ordered, feeling the fire begin to burn away at the fallen pillar as the fire spirit fought to free herself from the carnage.

"You'll find us when you're done, nee~ Kura-kura?" Mokona asked, pushing the door open with her big feet.

"Definitely" I reassured, smiling softly at the white manjuu bun as she left, in search of Syaoran.

I smirked. This is where the fight _really _starts.

The fire spirit shrieked, the sound of hungry fire and burning wood, as the wooden pillar finally charcoaled and set the spirit free. She was injured, bleeding profusely in some places, and yet she still managed to hiss and bare her fags at me in anger and annoyance.

"_I shall enjoy burning you into ash" _she intoned, giving me a withering look before attacking.

"And I'll enjoy watching you try"

I casually dodged to the right, and knocked away her sharp nails as they soared past my throat. I jumped, higher and higher as she shot multiple bursts of fire, clawing hands of heat and destruction. She flew through the air, rolls of fire coating her tail as she trailed after me.

She clawed at me once more, and I twirled, using my momentum to kick her, and then whilst she was distracted, sliced at her nails.

She cried, feeling the golden nails fall towards the ground far, far below. Fuelled by her own pain and anger, she wrapped her hands around my throat in an attempt to choke me. I struggled, feeling her burning hands wrap around my throat, but her hands were like iron, unmovable and as hard as granite.

I hissed in air, trying to force air into my lungs.

I gasped for lack of air; her hands like daggers as the last remnants of her long, golden nails pierced my flesh and drew fresh, crimson blood. They dripped like small rubies and fell down, down, down, towards the hard ground below where my blood spilled, and then shattered away like diamonds into tiny droplets of blood, each small droplet glinting with the light of the burning fire around me.

"_This will be your end" _

I laughed, even without the air in my lungs. "I'm already dead…"

And then I kicked, sending her off balance. Her eyes widened in surprise, flaring yellow as she toppled over the edge, dragging me along with her as we fell, like the small droplets of my blood, towards the foreboding ground.

She shrieked, my free arm hitting her, enough to loosen her hold on me. Her eyes were jumping out of her head, unable to believe what was happening. And with her yellow eyes trained on my own violet eyes, vacant as if she were empty, or an inanimate object, I watched as the last embers of the flame diminish.

"I'm already dead… But I will not die again, not today…"

And just before we hit the hard wooden floor, I pierced her with my wolverine claw, stabbing her to the hilt as the blades came out the other side. Her mouth was open in a silent cry, and yet she could not speak. She could not cry out, or whisper any last words.

And it was with that, that she burst into flames, embers setting alight to her porcelain skin, turning her into ash and dust. Just before she was completely consumed by the flames, she rested her eyes on me. Except they weren't yellow, they weren't her eyes…

They were _his. _

And as I kept falling towards the ground, I scowled, anger bubbling towards the surface.

With my claw still outstretched, I cut through the ground, breaking away at long, thin slices of wood that shook, and then broke with the impact, caving in until an area big enough for my body splintered away like cracking ice, and then I was falling, once more, towards a floor beneath me.

I heard voices, _their _voices, and before I could yell out a warning, or at least let out some kind of sound, I had crashed, hearing the yell of a male voice as I landed on one of two men, making us both fall.

And, for once in my life, I wasn't the one to get hurt. But then again, that isn't something to be proud of when you just _happen _to have landed on one, pissed off ninja, who might I add, was extremely pissed when he realised what had just fallen from the sky and crash landed into his face.

"You…" he growled, glaring at me as I sat upon his back, uninjured, whilst he was lying on the floor, with his face pressed against the wood.

"Get off, bastard!" He yelled, making me fall off of his back and roll away.

"Wah~ Kuro-pyon's angry" Fai exclaimed helping me up as Kurogane fumed, flailing around chibi style, and barked up a storm.

"Hold up, Kuro-buro, I can explain this…"

And so I explained the separation from Syaoran and the fight with the fire spirit, before going on to explain how Mokona had left to find Syaoran.

Kurogane relaxed a bit, letting the anger pool over as we had a lot more serious things to deal with within this castle, or more exactly, how we were going to find Syaoran and Mokona, who had by now would have found the Ryanban.

"Which way do you think they went?" I asked; standing next to Fai as Kurogane took the lead, walking around as if he knew exactly where to go.

"There's a disturbance coming from this direction" Kurogane answered, walking along a long corridor that edged on to the right and then upwards.

I stopped for a minute, focusing on that direction. Sure enough, I could feel the pounding of feet, and the sound of voices. Amongst the chaos, I felt the similar pang of Sakura's feathers.

I opened my eyes, catching up to Fai and Kurogane who had walked on ahead.

I shivered, feeling the air around me whisper against my bare skin, opposite from the feeling of warmth that the fire seemed to have embedded in me. In comparison, the cool air withered against my skin, bitter cold washing over places where there had been bitter heat only minutes before.

"You alright, Kurami-chan?" Fai asked, seeing me shiver from the change in heat.

"I'm fine, just a bit cold" I told him, not bothering to pull out a blatant lie that would not be believed, especially not by the watchful eyes of a certain blond, blue eyed mage.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around me in a tight, warm hug.

"I'll warm you right up~"

I blushed, warmth spreading to my cheeks. "W-what are you doing, baka mage?"

He only chuckled, watching me in amusement. Kurogane kept walking forward, as if this whole episode was not going on behind him. But nonetheless, I could sense the smirk on his lips. I fumed.

Fai rested his head against my shoulder, something he was doing with a gaining frequency.

"Just let me warm you up, you know you like the heat" he winked, making me blush even more. I tried to ignore his playful tone, but could still sense the second meaning from his words no matter how hard I tried to ignore it. I frowned, my face still on fire. I didn't like the idea of him holding me…But I didn't struggle, knowing that he was as stubborn as I was when he wanted to be.

So I let him keep holding me, and felt myself become warmer with his body heat, and my heart beating wildly against my rib-cage. Though I hated to admit it… I kind of liked his warm arms wrapped around me, and I liked the warmth that those arms gave.

No matter how cold he really was…

When I was warm enough, he let go, and moved ahead to join Kurogane. I hung a bit behind, my eyes unfocused as I thought. I no longer felt cold, but my body didn't feel right, as if it wanted the attention and warmth that Fai's body provided. I felt strange, alone and misguided.

Just what exactly was I feeling? Did I…_ trust _Fai? I shook my head, trying to clear my mind of all thoughts. No… not yet… But if things kept going the way they were, things would change. I would change.

And that's what scared me.

We walked on, until we came to stairs, which we quickly scoured until we came to an opening. The room was wide, and like a much grander version of Chu'nyan's house, except in a pallid blue. Before I could focus on much, Mokona had jumped into my face, little tears pooling in her eyes.

"You're late!" She taunted, her tears forgotten as she hugged me, being Mokona in every way possible.

"Geez, Mokona I need to see" I groaned, my mouth being invaded by Mokona's fur, much to my disgust.

She jumped away, landing on Kurogane's shoulder.

"Hyuu~ looks like we missed all the fun" Fai complained, watching the scene before us.

The lady from before, the one with the birdcage hair-piece, was standing in a swirl of stars and galaxies, a rip in time. She held the Ryanban with her spidery hands, her long nails seemingly on the edge of cutting into the putrid man's flesh.

Syaoran, Sakura, and Chu'nyan were standing not too far away, with town's people off to the side with confused faces, some cheering as the witch stood imposingly with her powers surging to her purpose.

And then I saw it. The feather.

"Shit buckets" I uttered, feeling myself become weak again, my legs buckling beneath me. I fell to the floor, without the support of others as they seemed to have not noticed my fall.

My back slumped against the wall, my head hanging low, and then my vision was clouding with specks of black, like blood splatters, against the room full of colours that began to darken.

I heard Mokona say my name, and almost saw her as she jumped down to look at me, and she watched as my vision swam into multiple swirls of paint and ink, my whole world dissolving as I fell once again, my back sliding off of the wall and my face meeting the cold, hard floor.

So much for not making a habit out of feinting…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

_The room was dark, only filled by the flickering flame of candles in low chandeliers, and the floating embers of cigarettes. The girl cowered, feeling the blood rush through her brain. They were laughing, angry, drunken, and oblivious to her pain as much as they were oblivious to _real _strife and _real _problems, the men having been stuck in their own pit of despair, or so they thought, as they drunk more beer and sipped more wine. They laughed at the small six year-old girl once more. _

"_You tired of the pain yet, filth?" A man asked, laughing drunkenly as he kicked her, hard in the stomach, where she doubled over in tears and pain. She was so young, but they did not spare her for what she was. _

_For she was cursed, her own guilt and pain riding on the thoughts of others as they used her, because to them she was dirt, because she was a creature of magic: a witch. _

"_You're a disgrace to the Duke's Third House" another gloated, taking out his own anger on the small, withering girl who couldn't fight back. She was alone, and afraid, so afraid… Because the pain hurt, and she could feel blood, sweet sticky blood, flowing from the side of her temple to her cheek and bruises biting at odd angles on her side and her arms as the men of the Third Duke House used her as their own human punching bag._

_She shivered, knowing she could not talk back. She was, after all, the disgrace of her family. And she missed her sister, her lovely sister, who she would never see again through the iron cage they had created for her, and the horrible crimes she had to commit for the Third Duke House. _

_Her own chains bound her to a horrible fate. _

_Her tears fell without the ability to stop, because she was too young to understand the cruelness of the world. Her blood swelled, as another part of the branch family went in for a hit, hitting her cheek with a hard right palm. _

"_You're lucky you're still able to serve the Duke's son, witch" they taunted._

"_Loki… Loki-sama" she called softly, hoping that he'd come, that he could save her from the terrible blows of the older men._

_But of course, he wouldn't. He couldn't. He was only a few years older than her, and more importantly, he was the Duke's son. No matter how hard she wished for him to come, to be saved, he wouldn't appear._

_And so she learnt to live with the pain, and cried no more. This was the last time she would ever let anyone see her cry, especially those who would laugh at her pain, as these men did. She despised them. But she had no will to fight. _

_She had no will to live._

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

I awoke, once again, with sweat gleaming down my pale skin, and my breaths short and raspy as if I had been straining against some unknown force. My back ached, where I had injured it, and so did my stinging, burnt hand as all parts of my body danced in their own scars, and wallowed in their own pain.

I sighed, thinking about the dream. It was like some kind of horror movie playing out in my own head, forced to watch as I see myself in a world I can't even remember, and see the pain, and see the loneliness of my younger self. She was like a totally different person… Rozette.

And then that boy again… Loki… he was my fiancé arranged from birth, and now it seemed as if he were my master…

But then again, I don't have all of the pieces to this puzzle. The memories weren't coming in a sequence, there was no order.

I shivered as I remembered those men. What was I? Condemned because of my magical ability, scorned of for my sex, and then disregarded as filth for simply existing?

It all hurt like a knife stabbed into my heart. The loneliness… the pain… The remnants and shards of a life forgotten, and then slowly revealed before my very eyes.

I scowled, and then slowly sat up. There was no time to think about the past, not now whilst on this journey. But it was incredibly ironic that I had once cried because of the pain, and then never thereafter.

Just like Syaoran back in Hanshin, when his smile disappeared…

And then I was reminded. Even with memories lost, feelings are always left behind: And so those two will edge towards each other once again, as fate dictates.

But for me, my previous life will always make me remember. Because even now, my heart was empty and filled with sorrow.

_I'm lonely…_

But perhaps, for once in my life… I don't feel so alone…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

We were in a clearing, with all of our original clothes on once more. After an interesting encounter with the Amen'osa, we had prepared to leave. And so here we are, with Chu'nyan, and Sorata and Arashi standing a little further back.

"Where are you guys going? You just got here!" Chu'nyan complained, unhappy with our willingness for a departure.

But of course, we couldn't tell her _exactly _why.

"We have places to go, people to see…" I trailed off, trying to explain in a slightly comedic way.

"But where are you going…?" She asked confusedly, watching us as if we were some strange traveling circus. We were traveling, but… no circus. Sorry to let you guys down, but I can't juggle.

I know. So sad.

"Who knows" Fai enthused, hiding Mokona within his long, woollen cloak. He smiled his usual fake smile, and I frowned. I really didn't like it…

Before Chu'nyan could say anymore, Mokona had jumped out of Fai's coat and was preparing for another dimensional jump.

Bright, rainbow lights swirled from a strange magical circle beneath us, and the swirling mass of power swirled around us like mist, picking up a gust as the power strengthened.

"Mokona Modoki is totally excited! Haapuuu~"

Mokona giggled, as we were all absorbed into her mouth and then dispersed into the place between worlds. We were floating, kind of sailing softly upon a slow current down a dark tunnel, whilst golden rings encircled the path, spirals of light against the darkness of the in-between.

I sighed and looked over at the blonde, blue-eyed mage. He was about as easy to read as Mokona, and yet there were still secrets even I didn't know, besides what I had learnt from Yūko.

Just why exactly does he smile with lies? And if he truly distrusts us all for his association with _him, _why does he still care? I can see it in his eyes, when he looks at the two kids, and when he's watching Kurogane's back. Even with Mokona.

So why is he still a pawn in _his _game? Why does he still believe the lie?

I don't know. I don't know anything about him, except for the hard facts that pass through my mind like a book. What makes it real? I don't know.

But I'm going to find out, what lies behind those blue eyes…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N Okay, so I don't really like this chapter. It just didn't turn out right, to me, but you guys can decide on that by yourselves. I've also noticed that the first chapter's shit, so I'm going to fix it up sometime, not sure when, but soon-ish. **

**Okay, so I've got firm ideas for the Lake Country, and Emerald Country, but I have none for Otou Country, which is also my favourite. IDEAS? If you have any, just review it in.**

**So yeah, please review and I'll update again soon. If you don't, you know what Mokona will do. **

**Hint: (TToTT) or (X_X)**

**-Maximum Dusk **


	7. Chapter 7: Beneath the Waves

**A/N Hello again. I didn't get too many reviews last chapter, but that's fine. Is there a possibility that the level of reviews could increase? I'll leave that to you. As I said in my last Author's Note, I need ideas for Oto Country. Ideas would be good, because I have Jade Country worked out, but not the ones after. I need to start working on the chapter plots, and not just the whole plot. Anyway, this chapter may seem like a filler, but it is very important, so please bear with me! And I'm sorry I took two weeks to update, I've been rather busy and next week is my birthday (next Saturday). Hopefully, I'll have started Jade Country by then, but no promises. **

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

The landing was calmer than last time, each of us landing quite nicely, actually, upon dirt filled ground. This time, to my relief, we hadn't crashed into anything.

"We've arrived in the next world!" Mokona cheered, giggling ad bouncing around as usual. I on the other hand face-palmed, and then began to look at the world around me.

"Where are we…?" I wondered aloud, my eyes searching the earth surrounding us. Giant leafy-green trees sprung from the ground, their roots wiry and clumpy like hands that clawed away at the earth as the light green leaves clawed at the sky. Everywhere, there were more trees and bushes, so many that they almost blocked out the sun above us like an open parasol. And then, a lake. A giant bank of crystal clear and pearly water, edging towards a deep blue as the water levels deepened a few miles out. It sparkled and winked, greeting the suns glorious smile with its own glittering gaze.

It was all so serene, there was nothing but forest as far as the eye could see, and the lake looked like it could run on forever, probably just as wide as it was deep.

"A lake?" Sakura wondered, her voice dreamy and soft as she smiled at the glittering lake with her own radiance.

"We're not in my world" Kurogane grumbled, his own disappointment evident as he scowled with his own frustration reaching his crimson eyes.

Fai chuckled lightly. "We aren't in mine either"

"How many times do you plan to state that every time we come to a new world?" I asked, giving each of them a cold look.

I stood up, drifting towards the water with a slim smile on my face. It was so… beautiful. I didn't often leave the shop, except for when I had to obtain someone's price; and I hardly ever visited other worlds. That was saved for only the most essential times, and never after Watanuki arrived. And so, I smiled, because never had I ever seen something so special, so secluded, and so mesmerising.

The lake slightly slapped against the side bank, like a still flame controlled by the wick of a candle.

"Sakura-chan, have a look" I called to her, beckoning and then smirking as Mokona squealed and 'accidentally' kicked Kurogane in the face in her own haste to meet the water's edge.

Sakura was a little cautious, but after some support from Syaoran she edged closer, until she was sitting down with me against the side of the lake, her face smiling as she ran her hand through the clear water.

"It's so pretty" Sakura sighed, feeling content with the cool, lapping water smoothly rocking her hand back and forth, slowly, like an old creaky swing moving with a calm breeze.

"It doesn't seem like there's any sign of life" Syaoran noted, smiling just slightly at Sakura as she enjoyed the blue lake.

"Is there a feather in this world, Mokona?" Fai asked the fuzzy white creature as she stood lazily on his shoulder, having already tested the water and decided that it was no longer very interesting. I had sighed, of course, because I didn't see myself ever getting bored of the deep azure lake.

"There's a strong energy!" Mokona answered, "I sense a strong force!"

"Where from?" I questioned. Mokona bounced off of Fai's shoulder, and then jumped happily until she was beside the lake again, in-between Sakura and I.

"It's in here~" she indicated, pointing at the deep blue lake.

"And we're meant to dive?" Kurogane asked, annoyed and pissed as ever. He was frowning, as he usually was around Mokona, and had a dark aura flashing around him like a wave.

Mokona, who had decided to ignore his foul mood, just jumped up and down as she cheered "dive" over and over again until Kurogane looked as if he was about to crack.

"I'll go" I uttered, surprising even myself as I put myself in the line of fire between the angry ninja and the manjuu bun.

"You don't need to, Kurami-san" Syaoran said, "I'll go"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how Sakura and I were left alone at our small campsite, a small clearing filled with our traveling cloaks and a big warm fire that separated me from Sakura. Fai and Kurogane had left, deciding to search the forest for Sakura's feather as Syaoran checked the lake.

Sakura looked concerned, her small lips cornering into a small frown as she stared at the lake, unfocused, as she thought of Syaoran who was scouring the depths for her, someone she didn't know.

At least, that's what she thought. And would always think.

Mokona had surprisingly stayed behind, to 'look after the girls' as the other two had left. That statement by itself had earned herself a glare. It would have been worse, if not for the innocent Sakura's presence. And you know what they say; when someone's innocent you really don't want to taint them. At least, that's what I had heard. I suppose sayings like that change between worlds.

"Kura-kura, Mokona's bored" she complained, her voice reflecting an invisible pout as she crawled out from underneath the small piled fabric of my musty purple cloak. And then she grinned.

I looked off to the side, watching the dazed Sakura as she stared at the lake once again, her attention having never left it. I sighed, feeling a slight irritation as I said, "that's it. We're going swimming"

I stood up, and quickly grabbed Sakura's hand.

"Wha-" Sakura exclaimed, having found herself suddenly pushed out of fantasy-land.

"We're going swimming" I finalized, leaving no room for debate as I edged quickly through the rough forest foliage and towards the water's edge, with an excited Mokona clinging on to my shoulder. She was giggling, finding something rather funny as we neared a clear path towards the bank, a few metres away from camp.

When we arrived at the water's edge, I let go of Sakura's hand and was about to start stripping when Sakura spoke.

"Ah, wait… I don't know how to swim" she mumbled, looking at the ground as her face began to blush in embarrassment.

"I-It's just that, I can't remember anything, and I lived in a desert and-"

"Its fine" I encouraged, "I'll teach you"

Let Shizuko Kurami's swimming school begin…

And that, my friends, is how Sakura and I found ourselves wading slowly through the crystal clear water, sticking to the edge where the water went up to Sakura's knees, perhaps a little higher.

I had convinced her to take off her skirt and pants, leaving her in her pink shirt and underwear. I had left my shoes by the bank, and nothing else.

"But what if someone see's us" Sakura asked warily, being the one the most exposed and all. I chuckled, feeling Mokona's fur rubbing against my cheek.

"No one's around" I answered, "just you and me"

It took a while, but eventually she ran out of excuses to get out of the water.

"Just relax, Sakura-chan. We aren't going any further in, and if you don't want to swim, we won't" I sighed, "just feel the water a bit, that's all"

Sakura sighed in relief, latching on to my arm with one hand.

"This kinda feel's nice…" she admitted.

We stood out in the water for a while, feeling the nice cool breeze as it graced across our lean figures. She was smiling softly and even kneeled down into the cool water at one point.

"Yūko wants to speak to you" Mokona whispered, playing with a piece of my long, midnight hair. I stiffened.

"Sakura-chan, you should go back now. Syaoran will probably come back to camp soon and wonder where you are…" I trailed off, finding a good excuse and going with it.

"But what about you, Kurami-chan?" She asked, beginning to turn at the sound of Syaoran's name. She then had turned around and looked at me.

"Just tell him I'm exploring a bit" I told her.

Without another word, she was gone.

"You can put her on now, Mokona" I instructed her, and then picked her up and off my shoulder, before placing her gently onto a jutting-out tree that stood alone in the cool, dark waters.

"Hai, hai~"

And then her jewel glowed, before projecting Yūko's face suspended in the air. She was smirking, like she always did around me, and her long black hair hung around her pale shoulders like they always did. Her red eyes found mine, and then she spoke.

"Kurami" she acknowledged, smiling just a little more, "There's a price I need you to collect from this world"

I frowned; confusedly staring at Yūko's floating face. "Who's price?" I asked, watching intently as the aura around her changed.

"Yours" she answered, her voice turning serious as the smirk fell off of her face to be replaced by a slim line.

"What do you mean…?"

Yūko sighed. "There's something that you will need for the future, but I cannot interfere. So I must receive a price"

"For the future?" I asked. And then I understood. "That Tsukuyomi from Nihon Country saw something, didn't she?"

Yūko smirked again. "How sharp. She did see something, but the likeliness of this outcome is still unknown. However, I cannot take any risks" she answered, her eyes piercing mine.

I shifted my legs in the smooth silky water. "What do I need to get?" I asked, knowing that she already had decided on a price.

"There is a rare kind of pearl in the lake" Yūko began, "it is the size of your palm and blue, it has magical properties. This will suffice"

"Which direction?" I asked.

"The middle of the lake. Look for the heart, and then go deeper than the water's floor through a split in the sand. There is a cave"

I nodded, feeling my ear tingling as I uttered a "I understand", before watching Yūko's crimson eyes as her face faded away from the brilliant blue sky, and leaving me alone with Mokona.

Mokona was still smiling, and bounced back onto my shoulder with a short hop.

"What now, Kura-ra?" Mokona asked, her ears prickling with excitement as she stared at me from her position on my shoulder.

"I have something I have to retrieve"

I started wading back towards the water's edge, and then crawled out carefully. I placed Mokona on the grassy forest floor, and then turned away from Mokona.

"Where are you going, Kura-chan?" Mokona asked, staring at me in confusion as I began to strip.

"Didn't you hear Yūko?" I asked her, fiddling with the zipper of my jumpsuit, until I was finally able to joust the zip from its stuck position, and then unravelling the black, textured fabric with ease. I folded the clothing, and then set it beside my boots.

When I stood back up properly again, there was no one to see me in nothing but a plain black bra and panties. It was a bit cold, I must admit. And the lack of fabric on my shoulders unsettled me. I pulled out a slim and broad knife, and used one of my thigh strips to tie it onto my leg.

I prayed to the gods that no one would see me. 'Cause you know how awkward it would be if I had to explain my state of dress, or more accurately state of _un-_dress.

Yep… awkward…

"Then Mokona is coming~" Mokona proclaimed, jumping into the air as if to land on my shoulder. I quickly held my palm up, and pushed her face away as she flew into my palm, and then fell onto the ground comically.

"I don't think so" I warned, slipping my feet into the glassy water.

"Gah, Kurami-chan's so mean~" Mokona teased, brushing away a fake tear for extra effect.

"You can't come" I ordered with a slight scowl. She looked shocked, and then her expression changed to that of worry.

"But Kura-koi, the last time you went to receive payment alone…"

"I'll be fine, and I'm not your 'koi' either" I groaned, "You're being way to mother hen"

Mokona stared at me strangely. "But Mokona is Mokona, not a hen…"

"Never mind…"

Before the white rabbit creature could say another word, I had jumped into the calm and clear deep water. Just before I was completely submerged, I filled my lungs with all the air they could hold, and then I found myself staring at a dark blue city of stones and mud, the lower floor of the lake.

The water was light around me, a pale tinted blue colour that reflected the outside world from the area above my head, and then a dark twisted mass of coiling navy below. It was easy to see from this level, as it usually is around the top of lakes and oceans, but below me was a never ending darkness in which I would be blinded from any light, and tell-tale signs of rocks and formations. I twisted right, and left, and then found that an area to my left was slightly lighter than the other parts of the lake. And in that lighter water, I saw something reflect light. I edged closer, but all I could see was something white in the distance, a small mass of rocks and stones, or something else, that was in the form of an oval on the more shallow lake floor.

I shook my head. It doesn't matter; my job is to retrieve the price, not whatever that was…

I kicked my feet, and propelled myself through the cool water, in the direction Yūko had told me was the centre of the lake. I kept myself near the surface of the water, deciding to dive once I was in the right area.

Through my fingers shot the icy water, sharp pricks of needles and thorns racking my skin until I felt my limbs feel like glaciers. I gasped, the sudden change of temperature startling me enough to have made me force an intake of breath. I choked, feeling the water go down my throat through my wind pipe, and then I reached the surface of a lake with a splatter. I coughed, feeling the icy water shoot daggers through my back, my legs and my arms.

What was that…?

I looked around me, trying to decipher the change. Above the water, all I could see was a wide expanse of indigo, whilst towering trees hung low like ants far off in the distance. I spun, but all around me was the same dark blue waters, and the trees hung back like islands in the far horizon whilst I was situated in the centre of it all; alone in a wide expanse of deep, dark waters that hid the treasure I was to seek.

How long exactly had I been swimming? What felt like minutes turned into hours as I could see the sun begin to descend towards the horizon, signalling the night as the light sunk down and the sky turn pink before a darker blue in the east. Perhaps in this world time ran quicker, or perhaps the lakes mysteries had begun to spill. Of course, I would never find out. Amongst the other shining worlds, this one was dim and forgotten amongst bustling cities and glistening castles. And alone in my heart, it would eventually be forgotten, the mystery lost in a long passed world.

Was I in the centre of the lake? It was hard to tell, with no map or compasses to guide me. But the chill on my skin and the darkness of the water told me it was, not to mention the distance of the trees and banks of the surrounding forest that seemed more like islands to me, blinking in and out of my sight in their sparse net, and then shifting with the weight of the wind. They gave up their leaves, and the small emerald mass of green danced in the distance until each small leaf fell into the deep waters of the lake where they would float until they decayed.

So… I was in the middle of the lake. At least that's what I thought…

But I'd give it a chance. I live to make risks, although others may disagree. I mean, I'm often described as 'tsundere' (*cough* Watanuki *cough*), being like a cold hearted queen before anything else. And I admit I am as cold as ice and as rough and sharp as a shard of glass. No one can see through me, no one can look past my indifferent mask.

Smiling just usually wasn't my thing, and even when I did smile it was just a twitch of the lips which could usually fool people. And I could laugh, like bells, but they usually were so quiet people could not hear.

I suppose I should be punished for the inability to trust. I'd rather hack myself to pieces. Trusting isn't something a person like me can do, especially in the condition I'm in. No, there are very few I can trust, and even fewer that I could ever love.

But I suppose that's the point. I'm not going to be here forever. There's just no time for heartfelt things.

I took another deep breath of air, and then pushed my legs until I was able to angle down into the murky liquid.

Deep darkness consumed the edge of my vision, and below the soft waves everything was dark and unmerciful. What glittered above was shadowed beneath, until every crevice was taken over by the deep blue that consumed the deeper half of the lake, foreshadowing the light filtered beauty above.

I propelled my legs, pushing my muscles into gear in a smooth motor motion, one foot kicking after the other in a medium pace that sent me down, down, down, and into a world of ice and the unknown.

I can't see… I can't see…

In the darkness, my eyes began to glow in accordance to my displeasure. A small thread of magic seeped through my vibrant, violet eyes, and power thrummed through the source of my knitted existence, until the world before me turned into a brightened violet haze.

Through my alight amethyst eyes, I saw the darkened lake turn into a violet realm of sand and stones, of reeds and creatures that lurked around the floor, or explored the caves around the southern end of a small underwater hill.

I kicked my legs, and swam towards the floor which I could now see. Without hesitation, I swam towards a trench which seemed to be the one Yūko had mentioned.

I reached the split in the sand, and looked down into the ten metre long crack.

Yūko was right. Through the deep chagrined soulless mouth of the deep, rocky walls that led bellow the lake's floor edged towards a deeper destination. And then, I saw something glint through the light of my glowing irises.

This was it.

I sailed down, feeling like Alice as she went down the rabbit hole. The walls were jagged, but also smoothed by the water of the lake, and strange shells coated the walls until everything was tinted a tawny colour, even with my violet haze in place. Wait… shells? Lakes didn't have shells, did they? I stopped just for a moment, before deciding that this was another world, where lakes were oceans and oceans were lakes, or something upon the like.

And it was deep, like a circular tower fit for Rapunzel's hair, being as deep as her tower was tall.

It felt strange swimming down, as in _parallel _down. It was easier to swim down on an angle, and swimming down like I was propelled by gravity was something that for any normal person would be rather difficult at this depth. But being me, and having my negative existence, it wasn't all that difficult.

Being as I was had advantages and disadvantages. However, the disadvantages out-weighed whatever I could have gotten out of this.

And if I could, I'd avoid the subject of exactly what I am. Sadly for me, this past of mine mixes with my future, and I couldn't ignore it. It was relevant, and is still relevant to the journey I am on. So although I hate it, it is still there staring at me in the face. And it's _laughing. _

I could see the end of the descending loop, and reached my right hand out to touch the floor of the tunnel. I slowly eased myself until I was standing, or more like floating in an upright position. At least, I thought it was upright. I couldn't really tell down here…

Through the violet haze, tunnels ran in many directions, but then would eventually fizzle out into a dead end. After a bit of trial and error, I found a tunnel that led me into a sparse cave-like room, with walls edged by strange hanging crystals and clams, whilst other pieces of broken shell littered the sand and stone. And then, in one corner of the room, there was a giant, open clam, the colour of beige mixed with cream and grit. It moved slowly, like a mouth on the verge of closing, and the rim of the shell quivered like that of a humans lips. On its brown and tawny tongue rested a palm-sized azure globe, an unblemished pearl that was clear and smooth in the shape of a perfect circle.

I swam closer, and slowly lifted my hand in an attempt to quickly swipe it before the oyster could CLAMP down on my hand. As if sensing my intent, the muscle of the living shell clamped shut, shutting away any kind of access to the blue stone.

I scowled, glaring at the shell. We could have done this the easy way, but I suppose I really will have to use my knife…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

Now, I could go into excruciating detail on how I retrieved the pearl, but for specific reasons, I won't. End of. I was swimming towards the surface again, and my lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen. The length of how long you could hold your breath underwater had a limit, and I had reached mine just as I had left the opening of the trench.

And now, as you can guess, I was quickly struggling to reach the water's surface before the lack of oxygen reached my brain. I kicked, stroked, as fast and strong as I could whilst holding the rather heavy blue pearl. Everything was dark again, my violet eyes having dimmed moments before. I was struggling, everything was so dark that I couldn't tell which way was up, down, left or right. I felt suspended between Heaven, Hell and Earth, with no way of knowing which direction my soul would turn.

I felt my lungs begin to give out, and I could feel myself try to intake air whilst only taking in the icy wisps of the lake's water. I choked, but nonetheless, I kept struggling.

And then, to my relief, my head reached the surface of the lake. I spluttered, spraying water here and there as I chocked and coughed out the water that had entered through my mouth. I breathed, and almost chocked on the air in my haste to take in the warmer air.

I gripped the pearl in my hand, and finally opened my eyes after I had hacked all of the water out of my system.

The sky was dark, almost as dark as the water below, and stars winked at me in the sky as if congratulating my return to the earthy world. The moon hung off in the distance, with its own half smile in an attempt to greet me.

I sighed, realizing that the others would have worried about where I was. The thought made my heart warm up, and bubble with its own liquid wave of some emotion I couldn't name. Nonetheless, I forced it down with a frown on my face, and then once again kicked my tired feet towards the water's edge where Mokona was probably still waiting for me.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

This time it seemed to take longer to reach my destination, and as I had expected, an anxious Mokona awaited me.

"Kurami-chii!" she cheered, when I finally came into view. I gave her a weak smile, which would look more like a slim line to most people, and once I had crawled out of the cool water and into the warm night air, I sighed in bliss and then collapsed onto the grassy floor.

"Wah~ are you okay, Kura-ra?"

I laughed lightly, and felt Mokona's fur rub against my wet cheek.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired…" I explained, and then pushed myself up into a standing position with a little difficulty.

"Get Yūko" I told her.

Mokona saluted, before letting her red stone glow again. In the darkened sky, Yūko's face appeared again, her red eyes once again finding my own violet ones with a look of relief and a little smugness.

"Do you have the price?" Yūko asked, whilst twirling a long lock of straight black hair with her thin and pail fingers.

I nodded, lifting the blue pearl up so that she could see it. Yūko nodded, and instructed me to give it to Mokona.

Mokona opened her mouth, and I placed the pearl globe into her wide-set mouth until she swallowed it whole. Within the next moment, something shot out of Mokona's mouth, and then like a wraith, it floated in the air.

The suspended object, or more like symbol, was a spell seal made of conjoining swirls and thick black lines until it formed the shape of a rose in a square, with a moon at its centre.

I was about to speak when Yūko interrupted me.

"It's a spell seal, as you've already guessed. It's in preparation for the predetermined event" Yūko explained, her voice turning serious like it had earlier in the day.

"And you're absolutely sure that the Tsukuyomi is correct?" I asked.

Yūko smirked. "You tell me. She is, after all, another Tomoyo-san, who was your sister… right?"

I bit my tongue, biting back another remark. Of course… that girl…

I nodded, frowning slightly.

The symbol floated towards me, and then with a loud hiss and my own silent cry, it coursed its thread through my skin and my soul, until the magical seal became imbedded into my very existence. It glowed, ember hot, and I felt my left shoulder burn where it had situated itself.

"It will stay there until the course of the spell has been used" Yūko mused, before a giant smirk took place on her face.

Her image began to fade, but before she completely blinked out, she said, "You might want to turn around", and then her picture faded with the dying glow of Mokona's red gem.

I was confused, and then I heard that _dreaded_ sound.

"Kurami-chan!"

I spun around, and quickly covered my left shoulder with my right hand. And then, out of the bushes, came the familiar figure of Fai. His swooping blonde hair hung around his face, and his blue eyes found mine within seconds.

"Finally, we've been looking for you everywhere, you had us worried Kura-"

And then, as if we both finally realized, I turned scarlet. His own cheeks were tinted pink, and he averted his gaze.

You know how I said earlier that it would be awkward if anyone saw me in a state of un-dress? Well, it _was. _I was still only clad in by plain black bra and panties, having discarded the knife in the lake. In my haste to give Yūko the price, I had forgotten that I was almost naked.

And what was worse, I was blushing. My cheeks were heated, heck, even my neck and ears were heated. I was completely _red_.

"T-t-turn around BAKA!" I yelled, finally finding the ability to speak. His tinted cheeks deepened, and he turned around completely.

I hastily grabbed for my clothes, not caring how wet my hair and undergarments were, and glared when I spotted Mokona giggling off to the side. She squealed, and ran towards Fai, muttering incoherent words.

All I could hear was "Kura", "red", and "no-clothes" in a hyperventilating kind of voice. Poor manjuu bun would have nightmares for weeks. She'd never be able to forget the day Fai found me almost _naked, _at _night, _by the _Lake, _and with the reddest faces imaginable.

I quickly threw on the clothes, not even caring if I got it right, and then stormed over to the other two. The red in my cheeks had receded a little, and I was kind of glad that my clothes were able to hide the new mark on my shoulder.

However, I glared, with a scowl on my mouth, when I finally met the eyes of the mage.

Without any hesitation, I lifted my leg up and kicked him, hard, in the shin. His surprised, and still coloured face, turned to one of pain for a second, before he forced another smile up.

"K-k-Kurami-chan" he exclaimed, holding onto his shin and jumping around just slightly.

My cheeks went red again. "There are times when smiling is not applicable, mage. You tell anyone about this: You. Will. Die" I grounded out, before storming off through the darkened forest and towards the camp fire we had set up. I didn't turn around to check if either of them were following, but I heard the snaps of twigs behind me and guessed that they were following in silence.

I shivered, finally feeling the cold that my wet arms and legs still seemed to collect. Seeing me shiver, Fai spoke.

"If you're cold, you can take my cloak" Fai offered, gently. Some part of me was blushing at the softness of his voice, which was hardly anything else but playful, whilst the other part of me growled in anger. Something about him… just sparked warfare inside me. Before I could tell him no, I was fine; he had lifted his own cloak from his shoulders.

He offered it to me, and I was about to take it… but then I saw his face. His _smiling _face. One of the various façade's he kept up, pretending to be happy, pretending to care. I _hated_ it. I hated _him_…

The angry side of me roared and set my eyes alight. It seemed to take over, and as he held the garment out with his arm, I slapped his hand away with a strong force. The jacket dropped from his hands, and his surprise showed again on his face for the second time tonight.

I scowled, and gave him one of my most deadly glares. "_I _don't want help from _you._ Your precious, fake smile may work on them, but it doesn't do shit for me. If I'd wanted something, I would have asked for it, _Yui_" I growled, ignoring his flinch at my words. I spun around, and only heard him pick up his own jacket behind me as I sped forward towards the camp.

Something bubbled inside of me. Was it anger? Was it hate? Or was it something less sinister?

The next morning, when we left this Lake world, I still didn't know. Unknowingly, something had ignited in me. If only I could _realize _what this feeling was. In the future, I wouldn't be able to tell. But this is where it all began.

The road that led to my demise.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N So, that was the chapter. I thought it was alright, but you guys can decide. I decided to make it slightly awkward, because I'm evil, and I also (unknowingly to her ;P) began the strange feeling inside her heart. Don't worry, she won't admit it to herself for **_**ages. **_**However, I did need to make her at least begin to question what exactly it is she's feeling. Also, if you don't know what a tsundere is, just look it up on Wikipedia. As I said above, I NEED IDEAS FOR OTO COUNTRY! Reviews would be nice. This may have seemed like a filler, since there's no feather in this world, but the development in this chapter **_**was **_**important. **

**Later guys,**

**-Maximum Dusk**

**P.S Mokona will forever have nightmares about this day… and of course, she'll never stop teasing Kurami-chan about it ^o^ **


	8. Chapter 8: As cold as my Heart

**A/N Hey… sorry for not updating on the weekend, I was kind of busy with my birthday and all. Okay, so I finally got some ideas for Oto country, but I'll get back to that later. Also, I've noticed that in my writing in previous chapters, things may be a bit fast paced in terms of the awkward moments between Fai and Kurami, and also the somewhat laziness of my tired self after writing until around midnight having started at seven. I may fix that, but no promises. I don't really care about the awkward moments, I kind of like them, but they're a bit cliché. It's unavoidable to tell the truth. **

**Anyway, on to Jade Country!**

**_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _**

The taste of icy cold fingers on my lips, and winters cool touch, laced through the bare skin on my fingers, and the wide expanse of creamy skin from my thighs down to my boots. The feeling of icy cold tears feel on me, and mixed with the burning and raw sensation on my shoulder, interlaced until my body was rigid and confused, mixed between hot and cold. The one thing it did know was this:

It _hurt_. Of course, the chilly wind would rub my bare skin until it was raw, and leave it papery, and thin, mixed with the remnants of ice and parchment pale skin tinging pink at the peaks. And the new seal on my shoulder still burned like iron fire, still raw and putrid, red and stringed with traces of blood and burnt flesh. Beneath the thin fabric of the black, soft jumpsuit, and beneath the far warmer musty purple floor-length cloak, lay the new strange alien mark, with its strength still taking its toll on my body.

The mixed pain went on further to cause me strife. Because yet again we had arrived in a new world. Cold and baron, and sown with winters harsh hand, until all the trees had been shaken of their leafy greens, and the warm flowery smell of summer was replaced by the fresh breeze of freezing air, dead wood and snow sodden bark. Beneath flooded burrows, small forest creatures slept in earnest, and eagerly awaited the spring when they could climb out of their holes and search their green forest after a long and rough winter.

I sighed in foggy condensed breath of air, and held my hands closely to my chest to keep the cold from my sodden limbs. Because once again, Mokona had given them a rough landing.

This time in a pile of ice and snow, where we had all with a grunt and a groan, complained to Mokona who sat idly and giggled like she usually did. And then with an excited, high-pitched voice, had apologised with a smirk on her face, and so we had set off.

In no good direction, either.

Winter was harsh, and winter was cruel. I had always preferred the heat, because perhaps there was already too much ice in me. Whilst the warm, sunny blue sky melted hearts and filled others hopes and dreams with love and adoration, winter froze all hope, and with icy hands, held the heart until it was steadfast in its own trapped icy cage, and so it stayed like a trapped badger in the dead of cold, with only time as its company to wait for the cold icy claws to cease, and for the warmth to return so that it could wake up and return to the outside world.

I looked up at the pearly grey sky as we trudged through the white forest, and felt ice stick to my eyelashes and snow fall onto my face in a calm and cooling kiss. It was soothing, in a way, and I found myself eyeing the environment, watching every twig and lost pebble, heard the satisfying crunch of snow between my boots, and tasted the cool winter wind between my cold and pale lips. I didn't smile, but some indignant part of me wanted to. It was always like this, some part of me would always protest to my ice queen or "tsundere" character. I tried my best to ignore it's innocent eyes, but it watched my every move, and whenever I had the slightest urge to let go of my stupid façade, it would try to coax me, to encourage me to smile and be like the smiling girls in my home world, who whilst I worked for Yūko with her shop, attended school and smiled, laughed, cried and growled at their own _normal _lives. But in my line of business, a mask always works best. And then there was something else, a part of me that would refuse to trust anyone, and then if this were the reason for my icy exterior, why exactly was I this way? If anyone asked me, I'd say it was none of their goddamn business. But of course, that would just cover for the lie I would have sprouted otherwise. Because I know about myself as much as someone else would know me. The exact reason and drive to do and act the way I do are lost to me, and even though I have created my own heart and personality, my core is still as alien as a stranger.

Because nothing is more scary than not knowing yourself. Not knowing who you are. I may know what I _am, _but the reason for my violet eyes or back hair, the reason for my frozen heart, the reason for my caution and suspicion were as lost to me as Atlantis.

I shook my head, and threw away all of the confusing questions about myself. There was no time, and certainly no need for the emotionally wrecked Kurami to come out and mingle with the living. I mean, aren't I pushing it enough just _being here_?

I looked ahead, and then finally noticed that we had left the white empty expanse of brown barky trees and grey sky. Instead of the dead, lifeless forest, there was a group of plaster houses with brown wooden supports, and wet and muddied icy sludge instead of virgin pale snow, with an occasional horse and carriage, whilst other plain and pale faced people walked around the medium sized structures and filled up buckets with ice from the side, or entered a building to be greeted by heat and warmth.

It looked just like a picture from an old history book I had once found amongst bushes not far from Yūko's shop. It was just like an old England, with women in their beige and worker styled clothes, whilst their counterparts strode around in britches and icy soled boots. The air smelled of smoke, with a faint tint of alcohol and bread.

I looked at the others, and finally noticed that they had already set foot onto the sludgy mess of a road, with Sakura hidden under her own cloak and Syaoran's, who had insisted that she take his to keep her warmth. He stood with shivering shoulders, his arms bare, but he did not complain. I watched as Sakura gave him a discreetly worried glance, and found myself feeling sorry for the young girl who also didn't know who she was. The difference was that she had someone who loved her, whilst I was still as alone as I was the day I had appeared at Yūko's shop with tears running down my child-like face. Though, I'm not exactly sure if you call going on a _long _journey with 4 strangers was exactly lonely, and I hadn't exactly tried to keep my distance, except with the blonde idiot who I despised.

Without real reason, I glared at the back of his head, and was startled when he turned and gave me one of his dazzling smiles. I ignored my radically beating heart, and scowled, before turning my head away and slightly growling. Beneath my curtain of ebony locks I was blushing, but with the apple tint my face had opted for from the cold, I doubted anyone would notice the difference anyway.

"Where do you think we should go?" I asked hesitantly, still feeling slightly peeved from the strange emotion I had felt as he smiled at me.

Kurogane scowled, disliking the cold, and Syaoran had a wondering look in his eyes as he looked around.

"I'm not sure b-"

"Are ye looking for a place to stay?" A man walked up to them, a man with slightly greying brown hair, a big bushy moustache and a rounding belly. He stood there, out in the cold in his own over coat, and beneath the brown tinted jacket, a small slither of white could be seen. He switched, and rubbed the roll of fabricated flesh between his neck and jaw.

"Yeah it doesn't look like you come from around here" he noted, looking at the others with appraising eyes.

"Yes. Do you know a place we could stay?" Fay asked, quickly ushering a small Mokona into his big, furry and warm coat. He showed him his pearly white teeth, and grinned innocently.

The man seemed slightly off-railed by the young blonde's smile, and looked like he was about to make a comment when he laid eyes on me.

He seemed pleased for a moment, perhaps a bit wanton as he smiled, and grabbed my arm with a firm grip.

"Anything for the young lady here" he winked, and I exasperatedly sighed, before growling and taking back my am with a force. I hated men touching me. It felt disgusting, and something about his dry parchment hand reminded me of another that was long lost in memories.

"Just show us a place to stay" I ordered, and glared when he looked surprised at my attitude. Sure, I may look like a small fragile doll for only just being taller than Syaoran, but this porcelain fist had a mighty punch, and beneath these annoyingly mesmerizingly violet eyes swam a mix of distrust and hate, and so I found it easy to manage the man's foul attitude afterwards.

I only smirked, just slightly; as he led us to a tavern with light spilling from the diamond grated windows, where beer lingered on breath, and waitresses were called for another round of shots after a satisfying warm supper.

As we took our own seats, and listened to the drunken conversations of other tavern goers, and had eaten half of our warm meat stews, a few men came over to our table.

"Any of you up for a game of cards?" One asked, with his long blonde hair tied at the nape of his neck.

Of course, Sakura being Sakura, agreed, and after a not-so-long cards game, Sakura found herself winner. And with that came the money. Lovely golden crowned coins.

I stood up, ready to leave, but was almost pushed back down by a man walking past in a white apron. His slicked back brown hair, tousled moustache and bushy eyebrows were unkempt, and his double chin bobbled as he sighed at his customers, somewhat disturbed by their drunken stupors and more than occasional shady deals. His had two empty beer jugs in his hands, and a few drops of golden ale dropped from the rim as he tilted his hand to save the cups from being flung out of his hands.

"Blasted drunkards, they've been coming around here because of that legend…" he groaned, making sure to give his best glare at a passing white bearded man who had only minutes before made quite a ruckus near the bar.

My ears pricked, a slow prickling feeling, and I became curious to his words, and aware to the strange underlying words that sparked as if touched. I called him over to our table, and then sat again after he had taken notice to my waving hand and pointed look. His eyes seemed to widen a fraction, before he shook off whatever he had been thinking and came over to our strangely dressed party.

"What can I do for you travellers?" The man asked, eyeing our choice of clothes and our strange acute facial features, before leaving his eyes on me. I smiled a bit, trying to gain at least a shred of his trust.

"I was just wondering what you were talking about. Legends…?" I asked curiously, making sure that Mokona was still in a safe place where she couldn't scare the people of this world immediately. He blinked his light, beady grey eyes, and seemed to get a little excited as he began to open his thick lipped dry mouth.

"Well, since you're travellers… It is said that long ago, a beautiful princess with long flowing hair lived in a castle at the edge of the Northern Town. One day, a lone bird flew into her castle. The bird gave her a sparkling feather, said to be filled with strong magic's. The princess accepted the feather, and upon doing so, her parents the King and the Queen soon died after by unknown causes, and the golden haired princess became the leader of the castle. With her own calling, children from all over the land journeyed to the Northern Castle in the dark of night, the power of the feather compelling them to come. It is said that none of the children ever left the stone walls again, and none were ever heard from again"

"Is that just a tale?" Syaoran asked, his curiosity picking up at the mention of a magical feather.

The man smiled sadly, "no, it is a true account of events that took place three hundred years ago. And to spark it all up again, the children of the Northern Town have begun to disappear just like in the legend"

I shared a look with my companions, and thanked him for telling us of the tale. He just grinned, and refused our offer of a golden crown for his services. He walked away, and returned to the bar where he once again returned to his continuous job of cleaning empty beer glasses, and then refilling them so that the waitresses could give them to the awaiting, drunken customers.

"I suppose we have an idea of where the feather might be this time, nee?" Fai asked, his usual smile blinking on his face like an illuminated street sign. I rolled my eyes, and flung a piece of uneaten food at him.

We paid for our food, and as we were leaving, a waitress with short mousy brown hair came over, and then with her strange accent, asked the question I had wanted to hear all evening.

"My, you're all wet. Wouldn't you need a new set of clothes?"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

I stood behind the beige curtain, pulling on the final strings to fix my new lavender coloured dress. It was beautiful I must admit, as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The neckline edged into a V-shape, with frills of lighter mauve's waving away from my collar bone. The bodice was tight and form fitting, with a lacy corset underneath the fabric to keep my stomach in and my chest out. The sleeves went to my elbows, where it flowed out into a frilly sleeve, and underneath the sleeve, another skin tight layer of fabric wove from above the elbow to my wrists, where the cuffs were white with a single pink rose motif on each hand. From the bodice, the fabric puffed out a bit, and collected itself before stopping and being replaced by a few layers of frills and petticoats until the dress reached the floor.

In my black, midnight thigh length hair rested a purple hair ornament with purple roses and strings of purple ribbon. On my feet were soft leather boots, with a small heel and strong brown string to keep the boot together. **(A/N Outfit in profile)**

I looked expensive, and as if I walked out of an olden styled movie. Sakura must have won _a lot _of cash to have been able to pay for a dress like this, not to mention for her own dress that she was trying on behind the other curtain. And of course the boys, who were probably waiting irritably outside in the cold.

I pulled away the beige curtain, and stepped out into the gas-fire lit room. Sakura came out of her dressing room soon after, with her own pretty floor length, light pink coloured dress.

I smiled at her, a genuine smile, and then quickly ushered her out of the shop after having paid for the new clothes, and rushed to the men of the group… and Mokona.

They stood where we had left them after retrieving their clothes, and in their hands they held the reigns to tall and grand brown horses. I raised an eyebrow, and stared accusingly at the blonde.

"Whose horses did you steal?" I asked shiftily, gazing accusingly at the innocent looking blonde. _Too _innocent.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kura-ra" he smiled.

We all sweat-dropped. I sighed, and pulled a foot over the saddle so that I was seated firmly upon the tall horse's broad back.

This was going to be a long and irritable ride.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

Mokona hugged my cheek from beneath my cloak hood, and I almost laughed at her adorable attempt to get warm. Her soft, downy fur was rubbing against my cheek again, and from the side of my hood I could see the small tell-tale glint of the ruby on her forehead. As if telling I was about to open up, she herself giggled, and I scowled at her as if daring her to keep laughing at me.

"Do you believe what that old geezer said?" Kurogane growled, his long black cloak fitting snugly into his chest as he rode his own ark oak horse. I looked down at the fresh, white snow, and saw the tracks we left behind as we rode on through thick, bare trees, with raking claws and cloak snagging branches.

Fai smiled teasingly, from his spot behind the tall angry man. You see, Fai being the idiot that he is, had taken one digit less of a horse, and so he had to share one with Kurogane. The pissed ninja had gone on a rampage at first, but after a firm whack in the head from me, he seemed to have sobered up, especially when Mokona had assured him that she would leave him alone whilst the blonde hung onto the rump of his own gaunt horse.

Fai glomped the back of Kurogane, ignoring the older man's anger, "oh wifey~ of course we do. How many magical feathers could exist, especially when the feather sounded just like Sakura-chan's memory fragment?"

Kurogane growled, and forced the blonde mage off of his horse, making him land roughly onto the back of my own. If they had been healthier horses, it would have reacted wildly, but with the turning of winter, the cold understanding of lacking food and pelting ice, the horse was left sadly rather gaunt, and each horse was probably not treated properly by amateurs during this harsh winter.

I sighed, and forced the blond onto the horse properly. "If you fall, someone's gonna have to pick you back up again"

Fai smiled winningly. "Would you be the one to pick me up when I fall?" He asked teasingly. I growled, and turned back around so that I could steer the horse properly. _I was not blushing, I was not blushing…_ That jerk-ass really did piss me off.

"No, retrieving you would take more effort than you're worth" I retorted, keeping the teasing tone alive. Mokona giggled, and then left the warm embrace of my cloak so that she could jump to Fai, where she would soon end up finding a way to unsafely taunt Kurogane with the blonde's obedient assistance.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring their scheming whispers, and instead trudged ahead, until we came to wrought iron gate, black with the fogs rust, and a curling sign with English characters. A crow cawed, and flew away on black wings to a more stable perch.

"Spirit" Syaoran read, familiar with the English language. I nodded my head slowly, and we pushed the gate open to enter the Northern Town.

We trudged through, and soon came to buildings similar to the ones we had seen in the previous town. Off white plaster and wooden supports, with tiled roofs that was overlayed with virgin snow, and ice hung from the frozen trees surrounding the supposed street. As we walked past, the town's people stared out of their small windows, and after seeing our faces, quickly slammed all doors and windows, so that their homes were completely shut from the white world outside.

"Seems like we're not welcome here" Fai noted, a faint smile still lingering on is face as we all looked around the empty street in confusion.

Kurogane nodded, for once agreeing with the blue-eyed man.

"Is it going to snow soon?" I asked to no one, staring at the dark grey sky that looked as if it were about to burst any moment or turn an even darker shade as the afternoon settled, and the turning to night began its run. It was cold, and I became startlingly aware that this cloak wasn't as warm as I had previously hoped. I shivered, despite the feeling that blue eyes were watching me with curiosity.

As we neared the centre of the town, the town's men surrounded us with suspicion in their tall, lean bodies, and more than a few held pitch forks or broom s if ready to attack if we turned out to be a threat to their already crumbling village.

"Who're you?" A man asked; voicing the questions of the rest of the town's folk.

"We're… writing a book. Eh… not me exactly, I'm just an assistant. This man", Syaoran pointed at Fai, "Is the one writing the book. We're traveling to various countries, researching old architecture and Legends for the book"

Syaoran was an actually decent maker-upper-of-excuses-in-mere-seconds person… interesting…

"Who are the others?" The man asked, still sceptical to their story.

Fai smiled, his usual soft mile, and he pointed to each of us as he explained our positions. "This girl is my sister, and that man over there" Fai explained, pointing to Kurogane, "is kind of like our extra hand, and this black haired one is his younger sister. She doesn't really do much, just sands around and looks pretty"

I glared, my best and darkest look, and I could see him shiver under my violent purple eye. I was very glad that my hood was still up, and that they couldn't see anything but my long thigh length midnight locks.

"Ehehe… just joking, she attends to my younger sister who is, um… fragile"

"Stop this at once!" A voice ordered, a sound that was low and gentle and seemed to grab the attention of the whole crowd. A man pushed through the crowd. He had dark, glossy hair hat was tied with a ribbon, and rich looking attire that was a darkish colour, its colour un-differential in the now even more darkened sky. He wore round rimmed frames, with glinting spheres of glass, and behind the lens shone bright and influential blue eyes, eyes filled with knowledge. Alarm bells rang in my ear. Was it just me, or was there something familiar about this guy…

I shrugged it off. I had never seen this man before, so it was probably a mistake…

"How could you be so cruel to travellers you have never met before?" He asked, scolding the suspicions of those who had arrived with angry and untrusting faces.

"I'm deeply sorry for the rudeness of the residents of this village. Please, follow me" the man instructed, having been able to get rid of the surrounding mob.

I nodded, and his eyes caught mine. Something clicked. There was something definitely strange about this guy…

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

The man from before set down a tray of hot tea, and another decanter with a generous amount of amber liquor, probably this world's rendition of brandy. I sat on a comfortable couch, close to the fire with Sakura squishing a bit to the left to make some room for me to sit comfortably.

The man explained about how he was the doctor of this town, Spirit, and his name Kyle Rondart.

"You may stay here for the rest of the time you plan to spend in this town-"

There was a loud banging noise, and then the sound of angry, boisterous and loud steps. The door creaked open, revealing a tall, well-built man with brown wavy hair, tied at the back like the doctors, and a small dark moustache. His eyes were burning, and his eyebrows angled fiercely. His clothes were grand, with a navy and gold cloak.

"Grosum-san, I wasn't expecting you" Kyle muttered, politely, though his voice betrayed just a little bit of restraint.

"What is the meaning of this?" The man growled, with a shorter balding man coming up behind him. He gestured for 'Grosum-san' **(or Mr Grosum, whichever you may prefer)** to calm down, even though it was quite obvious that the man was far beyond the point of holding back, not until he had a good reason to disregard his own argument, whatever it may be.

Kyle Rondart stood, and turned so that he could converse with the angry man. "I'll be back soon" he told us, before slowly closing the door.

I huffed, and got up from my seat. "This place really is suspicious" I muttered, finding myself unwilling to pick up the china tea-cup, and instead decided to just stand in front of the warming fire.

I flicked a tentative wisp of dark hair from my eyes, and stared, hypnotized, into the swelling pit of red, yellows and blazing oranges. The embers floated around the blackened wood, and a few unburnt pieces of paper lingered in the well, still un-lit by the flames. I looked closely at one torn piece of paper, and frowned when all I could decipher were the words "uneventful", "cursed" and "interference". I stared curiously at the piece of paper. How could all of those words fit together…? I unwillingly found myself curious, and perhaps a bit suspicious. What letter would have so much information written, and then thrown into the fire in a hazardous fashion, clumsily, so that perhaps to the man's own displeasure, large chunks of paper had still not burst into flames.

Kyle re-entered the room, and I jumped away from the fire as if burnt by their licking flames.

"Everything's fine now", he explained. "I'm sorry I couldn't introduce you to Grosum-san, our mayor, but… he was a little unsettled" he under-stated, giving us an embarrassed smile.

"You've heard of the legend I trust? That is the reason you are all here, correct?" The man asked, already knowing our answer.

"Yes, we have" Fai answered, putting on a serious tone.

"I thought so… I never thought it was real until the children stated to go missing…" he murmured. "There have already been twenty children who have disappeared"

The man shook his head, and looked to the ground. After a few moments of silence, he turned to us again, with a business-like smile.

"Now I suppose I should tell you where your rooms are. The only rules are that you cannot go out at night"

We all slowly followed, and I had one last glimpse at the still unburnt piece of paper. Whoever had thrown it in the fire must have been in a rush, since most of the ripped pieces had still not been burnt after landing in awkward places around the fire.

Why had the person been so rushed? Even though it was almost definitely Dr Rondart who had placed the paper I the fire, one could not always be sure.

So why was there a rush? And what was on that piece of paper?

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

It was cold, walking around in my new lacy undergarments, but the unnatural positioning of the wardrobe, and fact that there was no bathroom meant that I had to change out in the open. Not that I really minded, Sakura was the only one in here besides Mokona, who was already asleep in Sakura's bed as she dreamed about Kurogane and monster cream-puffs.

"Kurami-chan, isn't it cold?" Sakura asked innocently, resting on the bed in her overalls, not willing to replace her clothes with the ones Kyle had leant us. She was a bit tired, and the cold of winter was a bit too much of a risk to take whilst changing. I smiled at her.

"It is, but it doesn't really matter" I told her, making sure to keep my left shoulder out of view. I was actually glad to have been wearing the tight corset, for it shielded Sakura's eyes from the black inked seal on my back. I quickly shuffled into the long nightdress, and felt the warmth begin to return to my cold, shivering limbs.

I climbed into my own bed, throwing the sheets over my arms and legs in a desperate urge to keep my body temperature warm. I sighed, feeling myself relax just a bit.

"Kurami-chan… what are your memories like?" Sakura asked hesitantly, her sparkling green eyes meeting mine.

I frowned, remembering the green eyes, the brown hair, and the soft features of a boy I cannot remember. The grandness of a gilded room, a hanging chandelier filled with violet stones like my eyes, and another girl with long dark hair and lighter, paler purple eyes. And the beating, the angry, frustrated voices, and the pain of a dagger meeting my heart. Then there was blood. So much blood.

I sighed, and eyed her warily. "I… can't even figure it out myself. I promise… when I understand everything, I'll tell you" I told her. She smiled, and she laughed, a sound like happy chimes and bells.

"When I remember everything… I'll tell you too. I'll tell you about wonderful things that right now I don't even know of. But I will. I promise I will"

I smiled sadly, knowing that there would be one thing, the most important thing that she would never remember. She wouldn't even know what she was… at least, not for a while yet.

Nonetheless, she was a sweet child, or soul, who never deserved to be wrapped up in all of this. Neither were the others, who had also suffered to get to this stage. Even I had suffered.

But fate runs steadily even in Chaos. So I suppose the journey will continue, even if I know pain and danger wait ahead. I suppose, the one with the most knowledge will always have to suffer knowing about these things first. But I cannot speak, I cannot reveal a thing. I don't even _know _everything.

Just the journey, just the hurt. But I didn't know the ending.

I suppose we'll just have to wait.

It didn't take long for sleep to run me over, and soon I was in my own dream-world, alone in a black void filled with empty space.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

It was dark; all I could hear was the crackling fire. Why had I woken up? I wasn't sure. All I could remember was a chime in my ear, a bell, and the next thing I know, I'm awake. I her rustling, the sound of moving fabric, and I opened my eyes in search of the alien sound. I saw Sakura, as she sat up in her bed and tiredly rubbed her eyes.

"I must have fallen asleep…" I heard her mutter, before she noticed Mokona beside her, who had started to sprout out nonsense about Kurogane and pizza dough in her sleep. I giggled, alerting Sakura to my now conscious state.

I sat up to, and she turned her eyes to me.

"You woke up too?" she asked, softly gazing upon me with her emerald eyes. I nodded. Outside of the window, it was snowing. The white balls were like frozen tears, or like the icy embers of a frozen flame. The snowflakes danced in the wind, and all that could be seen outside was the soft shadowing of the bare trees. In these trees sat many crows, their black glossy feathers reflecting little light in the dim night.

I edged closer to the window, with Sakura following my steps, until we were in front of the glass paned windows, each gilded black cross containing a small mound of snow.

Was it just me or was something glowing…?

I looked closer, and as if coaxed by my curious glances, the glow finally formed a tall, slender woman with long, wavy golden hair. She glowed, brightly, and it was as if she were solid. She was still glowing, ethereal like, and her grey eyes met mine before she turned around, her golden hair flying.

"The golden haired hime **(hime means princess)**?" Sakura gasped, placing her pale fingers against the freezing glass. She floated away, with crows flying menacingly above her head, and as I looked at her, I heard a feminine voice.

"_The children… don't be fooled by the lies of those who follow your enemy" _she warned, her grey eyes falling on mine one last time.

"_Be careful. He will quickly turn you into what you should have been"_

And then she was gone, her spirit turning into golden dust that swirled and swelled, and then dispersed into the cold night air outside of the glass window.

I pushed Sakura back into bed, promising to discuss the golden haired hime with the others in the morning, and then prepared myself for sleep. But it wasn't easy. The hime's words that only I could hear rung in my mind. Someone here couldn't be trusted. Someone here was one of _his _pawns.

I turned, and eventually, my mind drifted into sleep. Except this time, there was no endless black abyss. No giant blob of ink, no dark twisted shadows. No memories, or nightmares, no nothingness. I wasn't really sure where I was. This dream world was like a reflection of Yūko's shop, with many assorted magical objects littering the walls, and tatami mats beneath my feet. I looked around, searching for the meaning of the dream. I walked around, I searched, but I found nothing but a big, purple butterfly as it flew away. I scowled. Whose dream world was this?

I heard something giggle, a familiar sound that felt as if I had heard it before… perhaps long ago…

I turned, and my violet eyes met those of a less vibrant purple. I stood, dazed, as I watched those eyes twinkle.

"Welcome to _my _dream world"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N I'm hoping that was good, but I will never know until you review. As I said above, I'm sorry for the late update, I just turned 14. Anyway, I do have some good ideas for Oto Country, so I am slightly relieved. But then again, I also need to work on the next world. And the one after that, and then the one after that… you get the idea. ** You probably know who created that dream world, and you already know that Kyle Rondart is an ass. Nonetheless, I still need to tell this story with my own flair. Nest chapter may be a bit cliché, but the way I pull it off is surprising and original (I think…).

Until next time ^_^' hopefully it won't take as long to update ;P

-Maximum Dusk


	9. Chapter 9: Frostbite Kiss

**A/N Hi… please don't shoot me! I know I shouldn't be updating so late, but hey I can't control what I have on! I have edited all my chapters, so please re-read them if you can. For the people who haven't read the notice, now is a good time to back-track and reread the chapters. Anyway, thanks for bearing with me for these past few weeks. Writers block is a bitch!**

**Anyway, here is Chapter 2 of Jade Country! (Please, let it not be a complete case… T_T)**

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

_Her smile was as sweet as the cherry blossoms knotted into her long, velvety dark hair, and her laughter resounded like tinkling bells in the spring breeze. Cold purple eyes stared at me through a misty, smoky haze, far less vibrant than my own, and her pale skin held no blemishes. She wore long robes of fine material, fashioned in the style of old Japan, and in her dark hair sat a marvellous head piece that signified her importance, and a small golden finch rested on her shoulder. Her beauty was obvious, and her smile was infectious. It was quite obvious, really. There was no denying the resemblance we shared. _

_I couldn't help staring. It was if I was looking for something, anything that would trigger something, some lost memory. She smirked somewhat knowingly._

_I was about to speak, I could feel words shift into life behind my closed lips. But no sound came, and instead of words the sound of ominous cracks resounded loudly in my ears like a constant roaring. My eyes widened as fragments like shards of glass broke away from my surroundings. As if it all were a sheet of glass, it broke revealing blackness like the back of my eyelids. _

_The floor, or what I thought was the floor, cracked open and I swaggered trying to keep myself on my feet whilst the sea of objects cascaded down like pummelling rain. The room became dishevelled, a living chaos as shards fell and the floor beneath me danced like the shattering ceiling. I searched frantically for the girls with dark hair and mauve eyes. When my eyes finally found her, she looked far more calm and serene than I would have believed possible. She held one of her hands to her mouth, and the way her long sleeve covered her hand made it seem like she was frail and delicate. However she was not afraid. The small bird on her shoulder shuffled its wings, but did not leave the hime as the room turned to ruin._

_The ceiling completely shattered, sending hailing large chunks of the room down onto us both. One shard scraped against my left palm, and I twinged lightly at the rough, deep cut. It was becoming all too much for the mirror image of Yūko's shop. It completely fell apart like a shattered frame, and I was briefly reminded of Sakura's falling feathers as I found myself falling, through terrible darkness as bright flashes of glass sprinkled mere centimetres away from my mangled body, and the last thing I saw was Tomoyo as she too broke away like drifting sakura's, her lips the last things drifting away as I fell. Smiling lips, gentle like the warm breeze on a summer night. _

_And I fell, fast and unwavering through this black abyss. Nothing was left but my long black hair and the shattered wings of a beautiful purple butterfly. It held no resemblance to one seen many times as the Dimensional Witch painted her seal. It was large with gentle, curly wings that looked like feathers surrounded by gossamer strips of thread that weaved into a kind of material that rippled and creased. These shards of purple wings shone brightly in pit of darkness, a lone light source amongst silence._

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

And I awoke with a gasp, my body sweating as I sat straight up. The winter sun shone through the un-blinded glass windows and shone into the room softly, calm rays of light moving swiftly across the floor as trees outside moved to cause shadows.

I shook my head, sending strands of black hair all over the place. Was that a dream? In a way, it was. However one should not categorise it as such, as I would know having lived with Yūko for the memorised part of my life. I knew little about the spiritual realm, the ethereal world; Yūko was often reluctant to speak of it. However what I did know was this: The ethereal realm is like a mirror of all the worlds, it acts like a double to each individual world and creates a replica as if you were merely looking through glass. It was there, in your hands as it was everywhere, yet you could not touch it. You could not feel it or hear it. Nor once you were in the dream world could you see or hear the reality. Spirits dwelled in this place, parallel to our reality; some lost souls and others merely the spirits of lakes or protectors of shrines. It held wonders even unknown to the powerful, and once a spirit returned to this invisible realm, it could never be found. Only strongly gifted magicians and dream seers could manipulate it to create dreams. Even more powerful ones could detach their souls from their bodies and scour the universe, and some could even surpass time to deliver dreams to the distant future. Only Tsukuyomi's could bring another into this ethereal world, such as me.

And such strength was known to belong to Tomoyo-hime.

How did she do it? How could she be so strong? The only known person strong enough was Yūko… Tomoyo would have had to place the dream inside Yūko's shop to gain extra spiritual energy. Or to be more specific the mirrored shop, which now that I think about it, looked exactly like the Price Horde.

But I suppose it wasn't strong enough, and as a result the dream collapsed. Our worlds were just too far apart.

I shifted in the soft, white sheets and pushed my hands against the bed to climb out, and even though the warm caress of the sheets sent welcoming warmth to my chilled limbs, it was no excuse to stay in bed for the remainder of the day. As if awakening my nerve endings, pain blossomed like fire in my left palm, and I jolted sending my whole body onto the cold, hard stone floor. The freezing morning air bit my sides like ravenous dogs, and my left shoulder burned into life to join my left palm in a crescendo that sent bolts of agony through my already aching body. It was annoying, really, to feel pain on the same half of my body. Any pain at all really. It was almost like I was getting constantly injured, and we had only visited a minimal number of worlds. It was so troublesome, and only boundless and eternal worlds waited for me in this endless voyage. This was definitely not a good start, and I was beginning to think it was an omen for the future. A not particularly positive one.

I lifted my left palm to inspect the damage, being gentle as I did so, and when I saw the bloody ragged line against my pale skin I flinched instinctively. It was the same injury from the dream. It was raw, bleeding like a drip down the crevices between my palms, and eventually winding around my slim fingers to drip dangerously onto the stone floor. I turned around to check for blood on the pallid sheets, and like the floor it was covered in splotches of blood where my hand had fallen, leaving bloody hand-prints to pattern the sheets like a scar.

I stood up, wobbling a bit as the remainder of my rough night settled into my taut frame. The light flooding the room bathed everything in a pale glow, and I faintly noticed the empty bed resting next to mine. I rubbed my eye-lids, trying to force the last remnants of sleep from my tired eyes with little success. That dream had caused a lot of difficulties for me, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to last the day in this sleepless state. However, I had no choice. Sakura's feather came first, no matter what the others told me. I had nothing else to live for, and more than anything I wanted to protect their smiles.

I forced myself to redress, finding the mauve dress lying neatly in the wardrobe where I had neatly placed it during the chilly night. It took a while, most of the time was spent looping the thread through the corset and then fastening it to my skinny form. I vaguely wished that I had someone to assist me in this task; however Sakura had obviously awoken earlier than I had, taking an energised Mokona with her.

The air in the room was warmer, however still held an icy chill always found in the winter months. I smiled softly, remembering many winters spent at the shop with Mokona and Watanuki. He hadn't always been there, but when he arrived it was as if he was meant to be with us. And knowing hitsuzen, he probably was. Mokona went into hibernation before-hand, and he had not met her until the day we had all departed. I felt a bit remorseful, knowing that we would never spend another winter together. The journey had already begun. The clock was endlessly shifting through time, and I couldn't get it to stop ticking. Every second that passed moved me closer to the end, however I did have time. I was thankful for that.

I tied the last sash on the dress, and carefully placed the hair ornament into its rightful place, carefully placing it with as few black, ebony strands in the way. I walked towards the door, my boots clacking, and pushed it open, leaving the intricate wooden door open as I paced down the hall in search of my companions.

The walls were lined with many a painting, all flecked with warm mahoganies and floral pinks, and in corners stood marvellous sculptures of things I had never seen before. They were made of Jade, a kind of gem found in my world, and every detail stood out from the green colour of the stone. Wooden tables stood at random intervals, covered in vases and other things upon the like to create a rich atmosphere. Windows lined the corridor, tall rectangular panes of glass revealing the world past the walls of the Manor.

Why hadn't I noticed the grandeur of this place the night before? Suddenly, I felt so out of place in this gilded environment, and the chandeliers dotting the ceiling made me scowl as I remembered that once, long ago, I _had _been surrounded in such an environment. But all the years prior to my eighth birthday were enshrouded in mystery, covered in lies and deceit mixed with clotted blood. Sometimes I wondered if I ever wanted to remember. But then again, I cannot keep moving forward unless I see the past. It held my deepest fears in its bloodied claws, and held all of the secrets that even now still leave scars deep beneath the surface of my skin.

I walked hesitantly through the patented walls, my eyes slowly scouring the desolate hall with a curious gaze. No matter how I looked at it, none of the objects in this corridor surmounted to create the kind of atmosphere that I'd imagine a man like Kyle Rondart would surround himself in. The colours held no flavour, and the walls held no character. Nothing passed the exterior of each object, just a faint mask hiding emptiness beneath. The house felt deserted and without a soul, only reflecting shameless objects that created a pretty picture for the eyes of unsuspecting people. But it was useless; the house had no feeling of home or warmth, something that was usually found within another's home. It suited no tastes, no objects that were priceless to the owner of the Manor. It only reflected the types of objects seen in a décor magazine, reflecting what others wanted to see in this kind of day and era.

In a way it made me sick, and Kyle's eyes flashed once in my mind. I wonder what he's hiding…

The big puffy skirt swirled around my feet, numerous petticoats layered underneath to keep my almost bear legs warm, and to add support to the mauve fabric that decorated the Victorian dress. I was gracious for the warmth; however I seriously could do without the bows and frills. Lace was something I wasn't used to wearing, and suddenly being thrown into a world where this is _normal_; well let's just say I was _not _at all relaxed. What if I needed to run, what if I needed to protect myself? For some reason, imagining running in this dress made me anxious. It wouldn't help at all, not in the snow that covered the world outside. The fact that the ice stuck to your boots was bad enough, it slowed you down, but having to pick up a heavy bunch of skirts whilst running would make it even more agonizingly slow. Not to mention difficult.

I sighed exasperatedly. Why couldn't Mokona have sent us to a world where things weren't so difficult? I really didn't appreciate the suspicious glances, and the fact that children were disappearing didn't make it any better. In fact, it made the whole situation worse.

I walked over to window. Outside, the sky was bluer than the day before, and a far as the eyes could see stood small brick houses covered in immaculate snow, some dotted with square chimneys that only just stood out from this distance. It was like a sea of unsullied light, a never-ending white world. The scene was painted to match the snow, and the sun's iridescent rays reflected off of the snow to create a bright haze around the town, like a halo belonging to an angel or the departed. It was all blazing, so white that anything could stand out against it, or maybe even the opposite. It was blinding.

It is because of that virgin white that I quickly noticed the mob bellow, a group of town's-people all dressed in various dull colours. Only four stood out against the back drop of white and dreary faces, one with brown hair and bright amber eyes, another with caramel tresses and emerald orbs, a tall man with black hair and scarlet eyes, and the last with a head of blond hiding startling blue eyes. Somewhere amongst them, I saw the flash of a red gem gleam.

It was them.

I quickly picked up my long, cascading skirt, and I ran down the hallway as fast as I could whilst holding the thick fabric. As I had thought, it was difficult to run. But something was going on bellow, and I had to reach them before it became out of hand, which it would knowing the suspicions the folk had towards our strange group. I had to protect them, even if I wasn't strong enough.

It took a while to get to the bottom, the Manor was crowded with typical objects, and I got lost numerous times down long corridors and dark rooms. I had once past the Doctors office, and was almost tempted to snoop and find out what was up with him. But I couldn't, I didn't have time. If things resorted to a scuffle we wouldn't be welcome in this town, and without access to the land here we had no hope of attaining Sakura's feather.

I eventually found the right exit, and I rushed through the sludge at the gate and trudged over to the amassing group of town's folk. All I could hear were raised voices, somewhat accusing, and I could only just see the top of Kurogane's head amongst the sea of blond and brown haired people.

I pushed people aside, quietly apologising as I did so, until I had reached the centre of the large swarm.

There was a middle aged woman with dirty blond hair, and her light grey eyes looked worried under her strange veil. She wore the clothes typical to this world, and I would have over-looked her if it had not been for her desperate shouts which seemed to be the cause for the large crowd.

"I can't find my child anywhere! I even locked the door last night, but she disappeared!"

"Please calm down, ma'am" a man urged her, holding her by the arm as she looked even more panicked for her lost daughter. He had shoulder-length dark hair in a pony-tail, and there was an edge in his eyes that was common to the angry and desperate people of this town.

I neared the others with a few quick steps, and stood beside Sakura as the group observed the scene before us.

"It must have been the golden haired princess!" Many of the villagers shouted angrily, reaching the same conclusion as they always seemed. Scowls adorned their pale, waxen faces, most of them tired from lack of sleep over the matter. They could do little, and that was what scared them the most. The monster was stealing their own children from their own homes, without even laying a finger or unlocking the doors. They just simply disappeared, not leaving a single trace behind. None.

Sakura had a worried look on her smooth face, creating unnatural lines around her mouth. I could tell she was used to smiling, it suited her the most, and the worried look she had now made my heart sink. I nudged her and gave her a weak smile, some kind of encouragement, and she returned the slim smile with the same kind of feeling I felt. Last night…

"I suppose it wasn't just a dream, right Kurami-chan…?" Her voice was soft, but the whole town heard her words. Surprised and suspicious eyes turned away from the heart-broken woman, and their attention turned to the strange group of travellers, and this time I didn't have a cloak to hide my outlandish features. My violet eyes watched those of the village people's, and some heads turned in surprise. However I ignored them as Sakura went on to explain what had happened during the night.

"Last night we saw the golden haired princess walking in the snow with black birds by her side…"

Startled whispers erupted amongst the people.

"The golden haired princess…"

"That's the princess from the Northern Castle."

"The three hundred year-old curse, her misfortune has returned to cause more strife upon us!"

"She must have taken that poor child and all of the others too"

Sakura gave me a look.

"She looked really sad though. I just can't imagine her as the type to steal any child…" She muttered, her own eyes turning sad as she remembered the golden haired woman. Her eyes indeed were sad, and she seemed to curse the dancing crows that hovered above her head.

"What the hell are you talking about, kid? What would you know?" The man stepped forward dangerously, and before he could even blink I was standing in front of Sakura protectively, Syaoran following soon after. I pushed her back gently, and gave a cold glare to anyone who rested their eyes on my own violet ones.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept a safe distance from Sakura-chan, she speaks no lies. Any who comes close to her will not be forgiven" I warned, remembering my role as her attendant. My eyes were fierce, and the man flinched before giving me an equal glare.

"What are you going to do? A woman should know her place, especially one who looks like a witch. You should not even be here. Why don't you disappear?" The man growled.

The man's words reminded me of ones spoken long ago. I remembered the men from my memories, who drunkenly rained fists like bullets whilst I could do little to stop it. I was filth, I was repulsive, and I was a failure to our own Duke House. Why? The reason seemed to swim at the edge of my consciousness, but I could not grasp it.

I bristled, holding back the urge to move an inch of my body.

"If I'm a witch, then would you be happy if I turned you into a frog?" I growled.

"How do we know that you weren't the ones responsible for the disappearances? You should watch yourself. You'll be making enemies in this town…" His green eyes flashed, and I gritted my teeth.

Noticing my anger, Kurogane put a hand on my shoulder. I seethed, but I held my tongue. Kurogane's red eyes warned me that I had to tread carefully in this town, and it almost made me laugh knowing that _he _was the one telling _me _to calm down.

Nonetheless I listened, and gave him one more withering look before stepping back into place, my position at Sakura's right. The man was about to say more, probably something smug, but he was stopped with the arrival of the man we had seen for a few moments last night.

"Will you stop that?" He asked gruffly, and this time I was able to fully see his stature. He had dark brown, slightly wavy hair, with thick eyebrows and a moustache. He stood tall and proud, and on his shoulders he wore a long dark cloak with gold accents, and beneath fine clothing consisting of dark trousers, high boots and another few layers of garments hidden underneath.

"They did not leave their rooms last night, so they were not responsible for the disappearance of any children"

With a bit of evidence produced by Dr Kyle Rondart, it didn't take long for the town's folk to disperse in search of the missing child. They would not find her, but they had to try. It was all they could do in light of these events.

"Hyuu~ did you see the looks they were giving us?"

"I'm sorry… they misunderstood because I said some weird things" Sakura muttered, feeling down after the accusation.

"Don't worry about it, you were telling the truth" Syaoran assured her, giving me a quick smile as thanks for my previous actions.

Syaoran turned to the tree behind us, its bare raking arms clawing the sky and supporting the small forms of squawking black birds. Like the previous night, light glinted from their feathers like the flashing of cameras. They looked like average crows. However from the way Syaoran was looking at them, we all knew something was wrong.

"Syaoran…?"

"Never mind" he smiled, turning back to the rest of us, "we should probably go back inside."

We all followed him as he walked back to the big Manor, and I was once again reminded of the grandeur. I didn't like it. There was definitely something wrong…

I turned to Kurogane, who I had fallen into step with. "Thank you for before" I told him evenly, my poker face once again in place.

He shrugged, a strange looking movement with his long arms and strong shoulders. "I can't just leave you to do whatever you want"

I looked at him strangely. Something was different, his jaw was clenched and his eyes looked brighter than usual. I placed one hand on his arm, and he faced me once again. He didn't flinch, and he met my curious gaze.

"And why's that?"

He gave me a scrutinizing look before gently shrugging off my hand. I stared at him, bewildered as he began to walk away towards the open wooden door.

"You remind me of someone important to me"

A girl with long dark hair and pale purple eyes flashed into view behind my eye-lids. I understood.

I completely understood.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"Kura-ra, we shouldn't be here…" Mokona whispered, cuddling in closer to my neck so that she could be covered by my curtain of hair. "Wah~ what if he comes back?"

I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but I had to. There was something wrong, I just knew it. Especially after Kyle Rondart told us about the princess of the Northern Castle, Princess Emeraude, from three hundred years ago in which the original legend derived. We had just returned from the forest, after seeing said 'Northern Castle', and now I was sure. There must have been a reason for the papers in the fire, and the air around him was just as desolate as the typical furniture found around the estate. Empty. Soulless.

He was far too suspicious, so I had to find out. It was something I had to do, no matter what dangers I faced.

I was in the room I had passed earlier, Dr Kyle's study.

The room was dimly lit, with a small crackling fire behind a mahogany desk covered with neatly placed pens and blank pieces of parchment. Besides the satin arm-chair and wooden desk, the rest of the room was filled with many book shelves, made by skilled carpenters with a good eye for detail and strong timber. Multi-coloured books sat neatly within their wooden bounds, and each spine looked old and delicate compared to the kind of books I had seen at the shop. These books had been left to the ravaging of time, whilst the many numerous books I had read indicated delicate handling and strong protection against dust. The walls were a rustic green colour, with hints of age here and there creating gentle cracks like scars to its otherwise unblemished surface.

For the most part, the room looked normal. Or it would have if the shelves hadn't had been lined with powdered dust, and the pit of fire which now contained other ripped pieces of paper like the ones I had seen on our arrival.

I swivelled, making sure that no one was around, and quickly neared the book-shelf. Spider webs climbed into tiny crevices in the corners, and speckles of dust covered the shelf like a coating of snow, so thick that it dulled the colour of the wood beneath which from a distance looked like a warm ochre. Every book matched this un-used state, the colours fading from spines because of the dust, lost beneath a coating of fine, gritty dust.

Except for one.

It didn't look all that particularly different from the other books in the shelf. Its spine was a dark brown, with a few raw spots where the leather had been worn off. The only thing it did not share in common with its book-mates was the dust that seemed to cover all of the shelves. Unlike all of the other musty books, this one was spotless, even with a few sweaty finger marks to signify its use.

Mokona was getting a bit curious as she pushed away a few strands of my ebony hair. I carefully slid it out, making sure to not leave any marks on the powdered dust surrounding it. The book was a bit heavy for what it was, weighing around one kilogram (2.2 lbs.), and it was filled with beige parchment far thinner than I had seen in the normal books from my world. The pages looked delicate, and as I neared the fire with the book in hand, I stared into the flames with a sick feeling curling like a serpent in my gut. Once again, like in the fire down below, pages littered the pit, all burning around the edges where the fire was yet to consume them. I kneeled in front of the fire, looking around at the scattered pieces of ripped paper as more luminous embers floated around the fire like a lost limb. Very few words were illegible; however there was one large ripped piece still un-charred by the bright, golden flames. I placed the book to my right, and then carefully edged my hand into the pit to retrieve the un-burnt piece of paper. I was doing something reckless _again._

"Kurami-chan!" Mokona gasped, burying her furry face into my almost-bare neck in a fit to try and shield her eyes from the sight of my pale hand in the small, luminous flames.

I could feel the heat against my skin once more, reminding me of the battle in Ryonfi, and the curling flames that erupted from _that _burning figure. The flame spirit was bright and scorching like this mesmerising flame, and for once I felt guilty for killing such a beautiful fire spirit. But I had no choice, she was _his _little pawn. Just another puppet to be manipulated in this game of cat and mouse, his own quest to make his own wish come true through the sacrifices of others.

I quickly clasped the large rip of parchment, and withdrew my hand from the hot, searing flames. My hand was a bit red from the heat, but other than that it was unburnt and unblemished by the fire.

"It's alright, Mokona" I told her, using my free hand to poke her in the side. She lifted her face from my neck, and sighed in relief, a rather comical sight for a strange rabbit-like creature.

I stood, clasping both the book and the (luckily) un-burnt piece of paper.

I spent the next half hour pouring over the thick book, matching facts of from the distant past with the legend which seemed to have become real for the people of this town. Mokona made a few comments here and there, but it was as if she was anticipating something. She was strangely on edge. As it turned out, the book had a recount of the whole Town's history, from its establishment to the records of last year's crops. It didn't take long to find the entry from three hundred years ago, but not much could be salvaged from it. I had been reading about Princess Emeraude, and when I flipped to the next thin page, it was easy to tell that the text had been cut off. The words didn't match up, as if the two pages were not meant to be next to one another. On closer inspection, small tendrils of jagged paper could be seen. A page was missing. Someone had ripped a vital piece of information from the book.

Could it have been Dr Kyle? Who else could have done it?

I picked up the palm-sized piece of ripped paper. I had yet to read it, and I suppose that this was probably the best time I could do it…

_Very little has changed, but everything has b_

_It is going well. The people of the town don_

_with my ability it has been easy to do as ins _

_The children have left no trace following the _

_the spirit is restless, but she cannot be seen b_

_The town is in disarray, and are blaming her_

_All is going according to the path you have wi_

_I will wait and continue my duty until they co_

_Kyle Rondart_

That note…

The door creaked open, and I quickly shoved the piece of parchment into the brown leather book before hiding it behind my back. Mokona quickly hid herself beneath the tendrils of my hair, not making as much as a 'hyuu' as I quickly stood up, trying to look as un-guilty as possible. The very man who wrote the letter walked through the intricate door, and stared at me with surprised eyes as I stood, caught inside his study without an invitation.

Shit.

"Kurami-san, what a pleasant surprise to find you in my study. Was there anything specific you were looking for, or were you looking for me?" There was a dangerous, almost sadistic smile on his face, and a chill ran up my spine in anticipation. I could feel Mokona's breath brush against cheek, and I knew it must have been difficult for her to not speak.

Quick lie, quick lie, I have to think of something…

"Kurami-san…?"

"Ah~ Kurami-chan, I was wondering where you had gone!" Fai walked through the door, his blue eyes meeting mine with a blatant smile. His eyes turned to Kyle. "Hello Dr Kyle, I'm sorry if Kurami-ko has disturbed you. It's not good to go off on your own, you know Ku-chan. You got lost, so you should stick with me next time. Well, if you'll excuse us…"

Fai quickly grabbed my arm, and quickly shuffled me out of the room with very little left to be said. I heard a reply from the room, but I was too busy trying to keep up with Fai's quick steps to answer. His hair was hanging low on his face, and something about his posture didn't seem right.

Was it his back? No… maybe it was his shoulders…

That didn't change the fact that I still held the book, hidden behind my back and carefully covered by the many layers of my mauve dress.

I slammed into something, almost sending me backwards. I really shouldn't lose focus like that…

Fai stood rigid in front of me, his back turned, and having been the thing I had crashed into. His smile was no longer on his face, and his blue eyes were strangely serious when they met mine. I took in a sharp intake of air. As if realising his expression, he forced his featured to relax and gave me a crooked smile.

"That was very reckless" He sounded a bit angry, something that was almost completely unheard of for him, but it was so difficult to tell underneath the sugar-sweet coating of his voice.

"What were you doing in there, Kurami-chan?" He asked curiously, letting the firm edge in his voice disappear. However I wasn't fooled, I knew that he was not pleased by the risks I had taken. However he was still smiling…

"N-nothing" I answered, not looking at him in the eyes. He kept a firm smile on his face, but his eyes were like mirrors: reflecting everything else except for what lay beyond the surface of his skin. His voice sounded concerned, but his eyes were now as patented as my own poker face. I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't believe it. Why would he care? His lies are as deep as my memories are buried.

"Kurami-chan…"

"It's nothing, forget what you saw" I told him, walking past his shoulder as I did so. "It's nothing you have to concern yourself with" _Yet. _

Mokona pushed away the strands of my hair. "Kura-ra, is it really okay to push him away like that?"

I shook my head, making tendrils of my black hair to fall in front of her face again, much to her chagrin. The sour look on her face made me laugh, lifting the atmosphere between us.

"I'm not sure, but I just don't trust him yet…"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

Night had fallen, and the others were probably asleep as I finally made my way back to the room Sakura and I shared. A few wrong turns and an accidental-bumping-into-objects-in-the-middle-of-the-hall-way led to getting lost, once again, and I certainly wasn't going to fess up to the mess on the third floor, mainly the ripped painting, shattered chandelier and broken vase.

Don't ask.

But by the time Mokona and I had found the right floor, it had become quite late in the evening, and the only light left to pave the way was the soft, gentle gaze of the moon, whose light shone through the windows which dotted the corridor.

The night was cold again, and I stopped by one of the window panes. It was snowing; small flakes of ice swirling in the wind almost unseen against the dark backdrop, and the world seemed to be covered in shadows instead of the previous blazing white seen earlier in the day.

"It snowed just like this… a long time ago…"

I shook my head, almost sending Mokona flying. It didn't matter. I had to focus on the here and now; this mystery wasn't going to solve itself. I almost had all of the pieces of chaos. But there were still a few things I was unsure of…

I quickened my pace as I began to walk again, towards the ochre door on the left. To say the least, I was tired and in need of a soft bed. Hopefully the sheets had been magically changed in my absence, but that was only a far cry from what I would probably find.

I reached for the golden door knob, and quietly turned the handle in case Sakura had already become subject to the sand-man's work. I was quite surprised when I entered the room and found two empty beds.

Sakura was nowhere in sight.

"Sakura-chan?" I called, quickly searching the room. I checked the cupboard, the area underneath our beds; I even checked the rooms surrounding ours. But she was nowhere.

She had disappeared just like the children of this cursed town.

Mokona looked worried as I set her down on the end of my blood-stained bed. I ran to the window at the end of our room, almost tripping in my haste. If she wasn't here…

Outside of the window the sky was crying frozen tears, far cries from the perfect snow-flakes certain people expected to see. They drifted above the ground, lingering on the black wire frames of the window pane. And like the night before, black crows sat on the tall limbs of the blackened trees, with their beaks high in the cold winter night as they stared at me with their beady eyes. They reminded me of shinigami*, death reapers here to collect the souls of the dead.

On the snowy path below, foot-prints wound themselves through the empty streets. Whoever's footsteps had been imprinted in the snow had small, delicate feet, with a small boot-heel around two inches thick. My eyes tracked the prints, down the frozen street, until I saw a flash of pink in the distance, a figure with short, caramel hair. Even further in the distance stood a glowing figure with long, golden hair.

There was no mistaking it. That figure was Sakura, and the other… the princess from three hundred years ago.

Princess Emeraude.

I quickly thrust the old book onto the bed, almost crushing Mokona in my haste. I kneeled onto the cold, stone floor, and reached under my bed to find the silver claws I had hidden there the night before. They were gifts from the kudan who had protected me in Hanshin Republic, weapons far stronger than any metal naturally found on the Earth.

I quickly pulled them out, fastened them to my fists, and rushed towards the heavy ornate door.

"Wait Kura-ra, where are you going?"

I stopped briefly, and turned my head in the direction of my small, manjuu bun-like companion.

"I have to protect Sakura-chan"

"Mokona doesn't understand…"

"Just stay here and guard that book, you have to promise me. Whatever you do, don't let the doctor get a hold of it. Do you understand?"

"Mokona does, but-"

"I'll be back soon"

I didn't give Mokona any more time to speak, and I quickly raced through the maze-like Manor, following the route I had used this morning to find the exit. It was difficult to run in the dress, something I was becoming more and more aware of, but I had little choice on the matter. I just had to deal with it, or I would freeze otherwise. I briefly felt the presence of another behind me, but I dismissed it.

There was no time, and everyone seemed to be asleep in the Manor.

I found the front door, and quickly unlocked it. If I didn't hurry I would lose sight of Sakura, and if the snow got any heavier her tracks would be covered.

It was freezing outside, only becoming colder when the poisonous kisses of the snow licked the bare skin on my hands and face. I almost shivered despite the rushing adrenaline beneath my skin, and shoved down any thoughts of returning to the Manor, and back to my warm bed.

I may be tired, but I have to protect her. I _must._

Chilled hair combed through my swirling, midnight hair as I ran quickly and smoothly through the icy sludge, following Sakura's dainty tracks. Even with the added weight of the dress I was fast, something that I had been gifted with since my _awakening. _As I raced through the empty, sleeping town, crows watched from over-head with scrutinizing gazes. Was it my hair or my eyes, that made them stare at me so? Or was it that they knew I wasn't perfectly _human_? Their wings flapped and reflected the moons light as they took off, sending more rivulets of ice onto the snowy ground.

They could taunt me all they liked, but I still had a job to do.

I quickened my pace.

It didn't take long for me to arrive at the forest we had visited during the day. The empty branches of winter slummed trees stood in clusters for many miles around, all empty of life or greenery. The harsh winter air had stripped them of their foliage and colour, leaving them soulless and tormented as they yearned for the warmer air to bring back the life to their now dead environment. They missed the sound of scurrying forest animals, and of the early birds calls as they woke the creatures that dwelled within the protection of these trees.

But now they stood alone, left behind as the animals left, or slept beneath the earth. They alone stood cold, and without protection in the harsh winter months.

The arms of the trees were bear and empty, now useless clumps of almost-dead wood. They seemed to stroke the sky with claws, like the roots did to the earth and the seas to the shores, every part of nature envious or loving of another to the point where they must grip onto it as hard as possible, lest they be apart and ravaged apart by the other elements.

The tracks in the snow were being covered by endless torrents of falling snow, making it almost impossible to find the missing desert princess. The wind was getting stronger, and I was regretting having not brought my long, warm cloak. The wind swirled up again, making my dark hair fly around like a halo as I continued to run and follow the slowly disappearing tracks, moving deeper and deeper into the dark, lifeless forest.

I heard a twig snap, probably something I had stepped on, and kept running as fast as before, with one hand gripping the ends of my long Victorian dress, and the other pumping by my side. The metal claws on both hands seemed to glow in the darker forest, somehow still finding the light of the moon without any problems.

I wasn't panting, but I could feel my limbs become tired from the flight. I was still tired from the sleepless night, and with all of the events that had occurred during the day, I was even more exhausted. I was pushing myself, and I knew it was bad, but Sakura was in as much danger as the other disappearing children.

The princess was surely not to blame for the disappearances, and although spirits could do a lot of 'nasty things' (something Watanuki seemed to suffer from a lot of the time…), she was not the same. She was not vengeful spirit, merely the soul of someone who cannot rest even in death.

So if it wasn't Princess Emeraude, who was it? I had a pretty good idea, but without proof…

It wasn't too long after that, that I arrived at the Northern Castle. It was not nearly as grand as it probably had been in its day, not with old crumbling walls made of ancient granite, and turrets that had fallen long ago, having been battered by brutal time.

It sat in the middle of a large lake, which acted like a moat to the medieval structure. The inhabitants of the castle had probably endured many wars and sieges, and these walls had probably been coated in blood as the death toll rose from the constant warring. However those times had long passed in this world, leaving behind whatever was left of a once magnificent monument.

It hung loosely at the edge of the water now, even more lonely than the bear trees that surrounded the rim of the lake.

I stopped, turning left and right as I searched for more footsteps, but instead of lightly trodden tracks, I found bear, immaculate and chaste snow.

The tracks had been covered in fresh snow.

I swore, glaring at the sky in accusation. What would I tell the others if I couldn't find her? I wouldn't be able to bear the look on Syaoran's face, let alone those of the others.

Sad, blue eyes flashed before my eyes.

No, I couldn't do that. I had to find her.

I paced around the shore of the lake, trying to spot any type of disturbance. To say that it was eerily silent was an understatement, even the wind made no sound as it bellowed through the dark tree frames.

I squinted my eyes, noticing faint traces of colour on a nearby bank. I ran forward, keeping my eyes locked on the alien shapes in the darkness.

It was them, the kids. I was sure of it.

As I got closer, I was able to make out more of the children. There were a few, three, all kids I had seen from the village with light hair and dull, unblinking eyes. They seemed to be in a trance, not even shivering in the cool night air.

I wasn't too far away from them now; I could see the colour of their eyes-

Something grabbed the back of my swimming arm, making me reel and fall as the momentum of the running seemed to speed up my fall as well, adding a bit of weight as I fell onto to the cold, un-smooth snow.

I landed roughly, my hair spread out around me in the white snow, and my feet and arms lay at odd angles. I forced my eyes open, staring up at a shadowed figure, the one who had caused my fall.

I stood up, brushing away the ice from my purple frock. The man was tall, with dark hair tied at the nape of his neck, and sterile grey-blue eyes that stared at me coldly through thick lenses, and slim black frames.

Kyle Rondart.

"Well, well, Kurami-san, it seems like you have yet again gotten lost" he trilled, sending shivers down my back. His voice was even colder than the ice around me, colder than winter itself, and his eyes taunted me whilst a small, innocent smile played on his lips.

"I think it's about time you returned to the Manor, don't you?" He asked playfully.

"I have more urgent things to attend to" I growled, making him frown as he stared at me.

"And what would that be, if I may ask?"

"The children-"

"What Children?" He asked, moving closer to me with every syllable. His tone was once again cold, and his eyes scoured mine with a seemingly endless curiosity.

I stood flabbergasted. What did he mean 'what children'?

"The children by the lake-"

"I think you have become delirious, Kurami-san", he paused, leaning in so that our faces were merely centimetres apart, "there are no children here. In fact, it seems as though you have drifted further and further away from the reality."

His eyes were almost glowing as he spoke sweet, yet bitter words into my ears like a strange song. It was musical, tender and light, and I almost lost myself to the sound.

"You never came here, there are no children. What is it that you seek then, Kurami-san? Does it even exist?"

I glared at him, a strong burning feeling coiling in my stomach as I scowled.

"Don't bull-shit me. They're here and you know it, and I am nowhere near delirious. So instead, why don't you tell me what you have been up to Dr Kyle? What on earth is a soulless being like you doing here, and why are you abducting these kids?"

He glared at me, making his cold grey-blue eyes turn silver.

"I see that you are sharper than I had originally thought, butterfly-san*. I suppose that blue crown of your doesn't hinder your intelligence"

I glared at him, clenching my fist as another gust of winter wind blew past.

"You… you're one of _his _creations, aren't you?"

"I guess since I've been found out now, we will have to fight. What a pity, I would definitely by far prefer to see your mouth do _other _things than mutter your last words."

I spat at him, ignoring his look of disgust.

"Don't speak of unnecessary things" I growled, as I threw a clawed fist into his side. The claw grazed his side just before he moved away, leaving drops of crimson blood to taint the white, virgin snow beneath.

"Bitch…"

I rolled my eyes, dodging his left leg as it swung in my direction.

"I haven't heard _that _one before…" I muttered sarcastically, raising my skirts as I ran towards my competitor, keeping my other hand available for incoming strikes. I parried his next hit, but not before he was able to land a right kick into my abdomen. The skin around my stomach tingled, pain blossoming like a rose where his foot had landed.

That would definitely bruise.

I recoiled, aiming towards his throat in a heated flurry. Many kicks and punches were aimed at vital parts of our bodies, and we dodged each of the other's attacks with very few cause for real injury.

My fighting style was somewhat of a mystery to most. Half was what I had already inherited from _the time before, _and whatever I had lacked from that training was taught to me by _the fight_, a spirit sealed into a card created by Clow Reed long ago, its sister deck resting amongst the other prices in Yūko's shop. It was not the original, and without the permission of the owner of the real deck, would remain as lifeless as your usual deck of cards.

It worked as a portal between the two twin cards, and so I had learnt how to fight from the spirit of fighting itself.

However I was not the strongest, I was nowhere near as strong or skilled as Kurogane, and my strength compared to the other two was questionable.

But I was strong enough to protect what I loved, strong enough to defeat whatever stood in my way.

So I would not let this soulless existence win.

I parried another one of his hits, and sent a flurry of swipes towards his body, leaving cuts all over the man's arms, and a particularly nasty one on his cheek. He wiped away the drops of blood from his cheek, and flicked them onto the white snow beneath his feet.

My arms hung limp at my sides. Those swipes had taken up a lot of energy, and now more than ever I was finding it difficult to fight. I was just so tired…

I heard the sound of crunching snow behind me, and I turned to face the worried face of the desert princess I had been searching for. Her face looked tired, and she staggered as she drew closer to our battlefield.

"Ku…ra…mi-ch…an" the girl fainted, toppling over into the powdered snow as the weight of her featherless soul became tired.

"Sakura-hime!"

Kyle took this distraction as a chance, and whilst I was looking away he roughly hit the claws away from my hands. The strength of his hit sent me falling into the unblemished snow, and the claws flew away from my hands like a leaf in the breeze.

They landed with a splash into the lake a few metres out, too far away from me to reach them as they sunk down into the depths of the partly-frozen lake.

They were… gone…

My eyes bulged as thick, warm hands surrounded my throat and lifted me off of the ground. My feet hung limply a few centimetres off of the ground, and my throat was denied air as he chocked me, making me gasp and use my own hands to claw his hands away from my aching throat.

Kyle laughed, a painful, raw sound as he stared into my violet eyes.

"It seems you weren't as amusing as I thought… but perhaps I'll save you for later"

He threw through the cold, winter air, and my back crashed into the trunk of a blackened, almost dead tree. I gasped for air, and more pain shot through my back at the impact. My raw, left shoulder screamed at me in pain, flaring back to life as the rough bark stroked the sensitive skin where my new seal lay, beneath the sleeves of the dress. I stood up on shaky legs, almost falling back down to my knees when another wave of pain hit.

"You really are very pitiful…"

Kyle was close, too close for comfort, but I didn't have any more energy to fight. I was restless, aching, sore and sleepless. I might have been staring at the eyes that would deliver me death, but I could not retaliate.

I was once again reminded of the brutal beatings I had endured in a time long passed.

Like back then, I couldn't do anything. Sakura laid a few metres away, her sleeping body only moving as she breathed in and out.

At least she was safe.

Kyle placed both of his palms against the side of the tree, framing my head so that I was surrounded by the man and his soulless eyes. I shivered once again at the coldness of his eyes, and gasped when his face neared min once again.

"It really is such a shame that it had to come down to this" he told me in a sadistic tone. He raised his left fist, and sent it flying into my stomach with little restraint.

I was pushed back into the tree, making it shake and send a few stray clumps of snow onto the sullied snow. I cried out, coughing up blood as he struck me once again in the same area.

His mouth was close to my ear now, making me shiver as he breathed onto my pale neck.

"It is a pity… but you are a nuisance and whatever stands in _his _way, I must purge"

He bit down onto the tip of my ears, and I could feel his teeth rip into my flesh as I once again let out a strangled cry. I could feel warm, sticky blood drip down my ear and towards my neck, causing bile to rise in my throat. But perhaps it wasn't bile…

Maybe it was more blood.

"I wish I could play with you more, but night will only last so long. I suppose we should end this here…"

I spat at him, sending a bit of blood along with the spittle in his direction.

"You know you cannot interfere" I growled, making him frown once again.

"So even now you are still defiant… nonetheless, you must be dealt with. I don't see the difference… you are interfering by merely existing. I'm just the person getting rid of the pest. I will no longer let you hinder _his _plans in this world"

He used his left hand to pull out something from his navy coat-pocket, and swiftly tilted his head back as he lifted the object to his lips.

"What are you doing?" I asked, giving him a curious glance as he bent down so that our faces were once again close, this time so close that I could see the flecks in his eyes. I became panicked as he grinned, a devilish look passing over his dull, lifeless eyes.

"I'm seeing your mouth do _other _things"

He forcefully pushed his lips onto my own, sending more chills down my spine as my eyes opened wide in shock. His lips were rough and chapped, and as cold as his empty eyes and voice. I pushed him, scratched him, anything to try and get him off of me, but didn't work. This was not what I wanted, for something to be stolen from me like this. I could feel a few uncertain tears leak at the edge of my eyes. Why was I always the one getting into messes like these?

Bright blue eyes flashed before my eyes again, and I felt something stir in my heart. I didn't want this, but I couldn't stop him.

I didn't have the strength anymore.

His lips were still glued to mine, and I gasped when he slipped his tongue into my mouth. Something passed between our lips, something cold and wet, liquid, but it was too quick for me to stop as I swallowed.

Kyle moved away, a sadistic grin on his face as I coughed, my face growing pale. My eyelids began to drop, and my boy became as heavy as lead. I toppled over, my body becoming limp and lifeless as I lay splayed on the dirtied snow. There was a burning sensation in my throat, and my whole body felt like it was burning from the inside out.

"What…"

"It's just a gift from my Master; he really does hope you enjoy it"

"You… bastard!" I was losing consciousness fast, and I glared at him as the poison began to consume me. I gave him one last glare as darkness overwhelmed my vision, and I cursed him. I swore silently, hoping that the others would be able to figure it out. Mokona had the book, and the letter… but something told me there would be more that they would need to discover the truth amongst the careful lies he had intricately embedded into the town like a spider's web.

I finally fell victim to the blackness, and my own mind became lost as it strayed from my body in this seemingly endless sleep, where the nightmares would surely find me. But for now, there was only silence as I lay floating in a bed of darkness. Because I was no longer awake.

Because I was dead to the world.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N Wow, that was a long chapter. I hope this makes up for my lack of updates ^_^'**

**This may be a cliffie, but I'm not sure. Hopefully it'll leave you wanting more ;). Anyway, it was an interesting chapter to write, though I really do hate making Kurami look weak. She's strong I tell you! And Kyle Rondart is a real bastard in this chapter. Damn, if only I could punch him. I promise she will get her revenge…**

**Just in case you didn't know, a shinigami is like the grim reaper. They're the souls of the deceased who had committed suicide, and to redeem themselves so that they can pay for their sin, they take the souls of the dead and lead them to heaven. And when Kyle called her 'butterfly-san', he was just linking her to Yūko.**

**Please review; reviews are pretty much my motivation to write. If you want a quick update, reviewing is the right way to make me get out of my lazy habits and write. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**-Maximum Dusk**

**P.S I really do need a beta, because this chapter has not been completely edited. Shoot me. There's a reason why the quality of the writing kind of decreased near the ending. :/**


	10. Chapter 10: The Blue Crown

**A/N Hi guys! I got a few reviews, so that's alright. A few more would be great though ;)**

**And yes, dear readers, I do know what the 'dere' means in 'tsundere'. The definition clearly says that they warm up **_**over time, **_**so her attitude will change over time and not instantly. We're still on the first season here people! Most development comes in the second, since I hate rushing things like love, it takes time to mature and blossom. I suggest you get used to her 'tsun' character.**

**I now have the lovely masterthief-extrodinare to Beta for me, who will be Beta-ing the next chapter (hopefully). **

**This is the last chapter for Jade Country, so I hope you like it!**

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

_Can no one hear me, see me, feel me? Must I be lost in this maze forever? There is surely no world left for me, and yet I must return to my world of old, after so many passing seasons, so many countless years. That precious thing… was entitled to me long, long ago. Even now I am still a servant to it; I must protect its power from those who seek it with ill intentions, as I always have done. I have waited… always… always… forever. I wish for peace, but whatever peace that was left has been disrupted. Chaos is all that is left, as the worlds all screech towards madness and all that is illogical. I have waited… I have watched as the black crows flew… and now finally _she _is here, so that she may collect what has always belonged to her. But you… what are you here for? Who are you trying to protect? Why?_

_Sing, little nightingale. Spread your butterfly wings. Fly towards those who you wish to protect._

_Time is passing, your clock is ticking. All the worlds are spiralling. So you must awaken, everything, you must end the dream._

_Wake up, child of nonexistence. Do not disappear…_

_Wake up. _

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

My eyes fluttered open, eyelashes batting the cold skin on my cheek like a butterfly having awoken from its cacoon. Was that a dream? I didn't think so. The voice was familiar, soft and a little pained, far too real to have been conjured by my subconscious. Soft like a whistling breeze, it stole away whatever doubts I had in myself. Whoever it was…

I felt sick, the poisonous substance still preying on my palette with a vengeance, that bitter taste that would not leave my lips. That guy really was a bastard, no doubts about it. My surroundings were cold, dark and damp; everything was smothering and lost in swirls of dust and midnight shadows. I could see very little, except for a small, box shaped glass window far above my head, too high for me to make out what lay beyond its small light. But even with the small ounce of light freely flowing into the room, nearly everything was cloaked in darkness and shadows like an intricately woven spider's web.

I seriously haveallof the _good luck_, don't I?

And what was worse was the fact that I _wasn't even on the bloody ground. _

The chains clinked together as I vainly tried to struggle out of my bounds. No luck. I was hanging, that much I knew, with my back against a cold, dusty old wall with both my hands and feet chained into the ancient stone. Some of the light pooling into the room reflected off of the half-rusted steel, taunting me as I was chained firmly to a wall, captive in this unknown place, and with very little idea on what to do. It was clear that I was a prisoner here, wherever I was, inside some kind of tower or spire, maybe even an underground dungeon. The window was so high up, almost at the top, and the distance between my chained body and the light was not promising.

The darkness was condensing, having an almost heavy effect on my body as I hung limp, captive to tinkling chains and cold, ageing walls. But then again maybe the weight was because of my dress, which had sadly survived the fight with Dr Kyle, much to my chagrin. The weight of all of the petticoats would have been tolerated, maybe even welcomed if I hadn't been soaked in ivory snow, which had now melted to add even more weight as well as a skin-prickling cold that threatened to give me frostbite in the freezing dungeon.

I couldn't tell what time it was, or how long I had been here. The light from above offered no guidance to the time, often flickering and wavering to create uncertain shadows in places that would spark alien fear inside my heart. I hated it. This was just too familiar, too similar to something that lay beyond my current memories. Like an escaping, untrusting light, it flickered and then receded as I tried to sift through the memories that were on the verge of flooding in like a dam.

But every time, like that wavering light, it would die away and then turn from my welcome embrace. It would not return to me, even in light of these surroundings which were so awfully spiteful, as it cursed at me, my inability to receive the flickering light.

There was no mistake. Even if my soul forgot, my bod would remember.

And right now I could feel a kind of painful remembrance wash over me from the tips of my frozen toes to the very top of my head where my hair hung long, to my thighs, and just as dark as the room around me. It too hung damp against my sodden clothes, and I could just barely see the formations of ice crystals in places where the light caught my dark clumps of black hair.

And like those times in Hanshin and Ryonfi, the darkness crept into my eyes with greedy pleasure, relishing in my unknown fears and suffering. I was trapped, held prisoner, by these old, rough walls who could do nothing even as my own heart began to race anxiously at the sight of those taunting shadows, the twisted face of darkness within the concealed chamber.

And for the first time since I had begun on this journey, I was truly alone. There was no one left in this inky abyss.

Everyone was out there, in the sun, under the light whilst I was stuck in the shadows, stuck in this old stoned dungeon with very little tolerance for the memories and fears which thrived without the light of the day and the warmth of others. The loneliness bit the ankles on my feet, but I refused to accommodate it.

It's not like I haven't been alone before…

But I was surely not alone here. I could only guess my exact location, but these old stone walls only existed in one place in this country, as far as my knowledge went. And that mean that there were children here, somewhere, as well as a sleeping desert princess who had fainted into the snow whilst I fought _his _empty puppet.

Now that I thought about it, everything started to go bad after Sakura had arrived… though that was bound to happen. But I wouldn't tell that to the desert princess, she would surely find some way to feel guilty about her actions, something I would not allow.

Besides losing to the bastard, there wasn't much else I had lost. Except for…

Now I felt guilty, having lost those precious, glinting claws. They weren't something you could easily find in any old market, even in all of the worlds that I was yet to visit in this cursed journey. They were something magnificent, three identically sharp blades crafted together into a knuckle clasp which fit perfectly onto my scarred hands. They weren't just normal weapons either, having been a fragment of the kudan who had bonded with me during our stay in Hanshin Republic.

And now they were at the very bottom of the moat outside, probably being crushed by the rapid currents and lapping water. There was little I could do for it now; they were out of my grasp.

But my task would have been a whole lot easier if I hadn't lost them, though having Kurogane here with me would have sufficed just as well. It was a pity. Now all I could do was pull hard against the rotting chain, and hope that it would miraculously break without too much effort.

The rough, rusting cuff bit into the flesh on my wrists and feet as I tried to free my limbs from the chains, each rusting link clinking and reverberating onto my skin as I pushed my back into the jutting wall. The rust was clawing into my flesh; I could feel the area where it touched begin to suffer from cuts and scratches whilst I struggled with the unyielding metal. The new wounds weren't terrible; they didn't hurt as much as my ear had when Dr Kyle bit it. But even so, the blood still spilled, though not in a torrent like a lot of other injuries would have.

But an injury was still an injury, and I was beginning to think that I was never going to go on without some kind of injury holding me back, something which messed up my whole don't-get-badly-injured-so-that-you-can-protect-the-others plan which I had previously hoped would work. Sadly, ass-holes like Dr Kyle always come knocking and I always seem to faint or get hurt. It wasn't fair, really. I wasn't sleeping nearly as much as Sakura, au contraire, the night before I had almost gotten no sleep during the time I had spent in the ethereal world. But the amount of times I was getting knocked out, whether it was because of physical injury or because of my memories, was astonishing. It was comparable to Sakura, in a way, and we had only been to a few worlds so far. If things kept up, I was certainly not looking forward to the next worlds which were bound to come up before the chaos begins to spiral in and cause another storm.

The stinging sensation in my wrists and ankles didn't cease even after I had successfully freed myself from my bounds. It was a two-metre drop from where I had been chained; forcing me to titter a bit when I had safely landed onto the cob-webbed floor beneath, something which I usually could have taken with ease with my athletic ability. But when you don't know how far you're falling, being able to prepare your body for the landing is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It only gets worse when you're in a dress like a wedding cake, which is why I am in such a bad mood.

I turned my head up, only to see the glowing window even further above me than before.

I had two choices. One: Hunker down and wait for those idiots to turn up and rescue me, AKA play the damsel in distress. Two: Climb the walls and save myself like I always have done, and don't wait for help that will probably not arrive for some hours yet.

Let's just say it was an easy decision, especially since it was dark down here, and I was already pretty much losing it in the darkness that fed on my rising anxiety. If I waited any longer I would risk having a panic attack if I wasn't careful.

I didn't waste any time ripping away at the many skirts on my legs, and I felt little remorse at destroying the pretty much soaked, mauve dress. I was freezing after all, and there was no chance that I would have been able to climb the wall without tripping on the hem, not to mention the lace.

I kept some of the strips of fabric to tie around my wrists and fingers whilst climbing, something which would hopefully keep my hands from blistering during the climb to the top. I was lucky to be still wearing my tough, laced boots, pretty much the only thing that had gone my way during our whole stay here.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on coaxing a small thread of distant magic to trickle into my violet eyes. If I had gone straight into the _Violet Haze, _it would have been far easier; I could just use my magic to get me out of here. But I could not; I would not use magic unless I _had_ to. The risks were too strong, and the purpose not nearly as dire as it would have to be for me to remove my earing.

I couldn't risk losing control.

Instead, I focused on making my eyes glow like when I had ventured into the deep lake in search of the blue pearl, the price I was to pay for the new mysterious spell seal on my left shoulder.

Magic flooded into my violet eyes, sending light throughout the cavern like wild-fire until all the walls were lit in a luminous violet beam.

The light cascaded off of the walls like a deep blue waterfall, making the whole room reflect the same light to my violet eyes. The walls, as I had already gathered, were made of ancient, gradient stone that was covered in dust and withering spider webs. Each slated stone was stacked upon each other, making a sort of brick work pattern that disappeared into the hazy area around the top, where the less vibrant window stood alone. Light reflected off of similar bounds to the cuffs and chains which had imprisoned me, which I guessed had been used to hold other prisoners three hundred years ago, the last time the castle had been inhabited.

Or so the book said…

The floor was ratty and worn, showing signs of inhabitants many hundreds of years ago upon old thatched pieces of straw and dead, rotting splinters of wood. There were no bones or dead carcases, the room seemed to have been cleared of any mottled corpse during the last few centuries. The space was unnervingly empty, and the walls held no warmth like it would have in its day. I was left cold to the bone, with my bear legs and the sodden remnants of my soaked dress.

I sighed, making a heated cloud form in front of my pale face. I guess I might as well start now; there was no telling how long it would take me to reach the top of this pitted dungeon, deep beneath the ground.

I hoisted myself up onto the wall, finding finger and foot holes in the old patched stone. The material on my hands seemed to help keep my hands from injury, especially when I found myself lose a hold of the wall and fall back down to the bottom again as a piece of the wall broke away at my touch. It was unfathomable; sometimes I would slip or tumble, which would send me back down again if I was unlucky, and sometimes the rock would break away because of the added weight. I was tireless, which I was glad of, but the climb to the top turned into something like a trek with the unyielding walls and crumbling domain.

I gripped onto the stone, determined to reach the window above. I had to find Sakura, before Kyle did. He would use her to retrieve the feather, something which rightfully belonged to her.

And Princess Emeraude… she had been protecting it for too long for her to lose it to _him. _

I stole a glance bellow, and saw the bottom of the abyss further away than I had thought. The ground bellow looked almost like the size of Watanuki's glasses from this distance; it was a long way to fall if I lost it now. I looked up in search of the window, and found it only a few metres away. I could see the swirling of fire beyond its fogged, smooth surface.

I had to reach it…

I placed each hand and foot carefully, making sure that I had a strong hold on each so that I would not fall; it was too far down for me to land safely. I couldn't risk another injury; I had to be on my guard.

I was so close; I could see the eye of the burning baton outside. I stretched out my hand, grunting a bit as my other hand was left to support my upper body from this high level. I grabbed onto the slight ledge underneath the window, and searched for a hatch or lever that would move the window. My hand fumbled around the old wooden surface, finding nothing but old rotten timber and peppered dust where the webs hid in the eves. There was nothing to open or move the window, only empty space which could not remove the glass from my path. I clenched my fist in irritation. It must have been locked on the outside.

There was only one thing for it.

I placed my hand back onto he stone wall, to support myself, and lifted one leg slowly. This was going to hurt, and I would get multiple cuts along the leg, but I had no choice. My only comfort was that it would heal quickly, an ability which could only last so long in my state. The ones who had given me the ability would have surely scolded me for getting hurt so often, but I couldn't control the dangers that lurked at every corner. But it was helpful nonetheless, and it gave me some peace of mind as I swung my right foot into the glass window with maximum strength.

The glass shattered away like the world did in my dream, turning into shining fragments which flew both in and out of the portal like Sakura's scattering feathers. Each piece spiralled and cut through the air, many grazing my leg from the momentum of the break. The shards scattered amongst the wreckage, some I could see shining from the world below me, and some glinting in the warmth of the medieval baton which shone light into the underground dungeon. My foot stung with the multiple cuts, but it wasn't unbearable as I carefully hoisted myself into the empty frame, being cautious of any leftover shards that might not have been broken away by my foot.

My violet eyes dulled as I stepped out into the old medieval castle, dodging a few shards of glass as I turned to absorb my surroundings, which was a startling contrast to the dark dungeon which had now been left empty and without a prisoner to hold captive in its old, rusting chains and dusty, crumbling walls.

I was in an old hallway, each wall just as old and battered as the ones in the dungeon bellow. But instead of never-ending darkness, the hall was engulfed in ravenous light which flared from large wooden batons which were attached to the wall by cuffs of rusted iron. The flames were bright and spurred on by fresh oil and sparks produced by its own glowing embers. The iron may have been old and rusted, but the wood was far from being rotten or decayed.

Someone had replaced all of the old batons with new ones, and lighted the flames with a flint. It was the same person who had in wittingly imprisoned me, and Sakura, within this ancient castle of old. It was also the same person who had "poisoned" me on a cold winter night not so long ago.

Dr Kyle Rondart sure knew how to make a place feel like home…

My boots clacked softly against the stone floors as I walked through the hall, my leg slightly limping as I did so. It wasn't the pain that made my foot limp, but more the fact that the cuts in need of repair and would heal faster without too much movement. It was another plus side to being what I was, but…

If you only had so much time, would you wish for more?

I limped through the corridor, taking a left at the intersection. I wasn't sure where I was going, everything pretty much looked the same as I walked past iron doors filled with bolts, some decorated with curly cuts of metal. The lighting never changed, and wherever I went I was being followed by bright, cavalier branches of burning wood, whose flame rose up from the added oil or alcohol to lighten the otherwise darkened halls.

My shoulder didn't hurt very much now, dulled to a small twinge, and my palm had almost completely healed from the cut I had received when the ethereal world shattered in my dreams. There was still a slim line of red, which would probably turn into an almost invisible scar. It joined many others on my hands, which had all been previously inflicted through cooking lessons with Watanuki. He was always disappointed with my "lack of enthusiasm" for cooking, but realised that I would bring hell to the kitchen the minute he saw me burn water when he had only turned his back for a few seconds. He gave up after that, which left me in a saddened state for weeks.

I stopped for a moment, hearing my earing chime bells of recognition as I heard feminine, irritated grunts and loud thudding sounds from a pathway to my right. I hesitated for a moment, before deciding to follow the sound.

The corridor was smaller than the hallway I had just been on, but it shared the same lighting and old stone floors. There was only one door here, with an area up the top that was filled with bars, similar to what you'd see in a prison. Sakura was holding onto the bars with a look of concentration on her face as she fumbled with a long piece of rope. The door was tightly locked by a large block of wood, and Sakura was using the rope to try and joust the wood from its comfortable place on the door.

I was about to call out, but Sakura beat me to it when she was finally able to remove the wooden slate from its slot.

"I did it!" She cheered; a relaxed smile finding is way onto her previously engaged face as the wood slipped out of the holder.

"Sakura-chan!" I called, running down the pathway to join her as she pushed the door open. She looked up, startled, but beamed when she saw it was me. Her smile then turned into a small frown when she spotted my dress in rags, and the bunch of cuts on my legs and wrists.

"Kura-"

"Don't worry", I told her with a warm smile on my face, "they're not as bad as they look. Besides, they're already healing…"

Sakura still had a worried look on her face, but I ignored it as I turned to the sound of more trudging feet along the next hallway. I saw pale faces, dull and void of emotion, as their small bodies moved through the corridor without even acknowledging us as they went by. They were still wearing the same clothes which they had disappeared in, which worried me as they walked past.

"The children!" Sakura gasped, watching the young kids walk away in a daze.

I frowned. Something wasn't right with them…

"Let's follow them", I instructed Sakura, already moving my feet in compliance with my words.

"Before they disappear"

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"Where… are we?" Sakura whispered, hesitantly walking into the large room with me following slowly behind her. The room had probably been grand in its day; the walls were painted a fading green colour which was now peeling at the seams, and an almost rusted gold, medieval chandelier decorated the ceiling with tall spires of waxen candles, each alight, creating a glowing atmosphere in the castles ballroom. The walls that were decorated with wilting pain had small boxes for windows, with no glass in sight.

In the middle of the once-grand room, stood the children who now formed a circle around a giant stalagmite of ice, much like a church's spire as it reached towards the ceiling. In its icy depths it held the key, the object that we had been searching for in this world.

"My feather…" Sakura whispered.

I teetered a bit at the sight, and Sakura grabbed onto my shoulders in worry. I was getting a bit drowsy, but unlike any of the times before, I did not pass out.

I went into a daze, like the children, and my eyes glazed over as a memory sparked to life inside my brain.

I only held onto Sakura tighter as the pictures began to consume the reality before me, and I was lost inside the memory.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

_The girl shivered as the man behind her pushed her along, ignoring the fact that she was already moving as they escorted her through the building, the place that had once felt warm and homely to her on the days she spent with her family, her most treasured sister Tomoyo, who was the more beautiful one out of the two, whilst the young girl was more striking. _

_She had not seen her since they had taken her away, after they had seen her perform tricks of magic when she thought no one was looking. Now she was swine to the Third Duke House, the shame of the great branch family Daidouji. Was it always going to be like this? Was she always going to be forced to commit acts of injustice until her own death? She wished beyond anything to break free, even if her new master, Loki-sama (who she had been engaged to), was so kind to her, unlike all of the other families in the Third Duke House. _

_What was this kind of existence? Did she have to repent for the rest if her life, just because she was different? _

_They turned down another hallway, barely missing collision with a little girl with long, silver hair and big, bright emerald eyes. She was around my age, if not a little older._

_The guards beside me stopped, and bowed in apology to the strange girl, someone I had never met before._

"_We are terribly sorry, Shinmei Emiri-sama. Please do excuse our house, we humbly apologise for almost hitting a child of the Second Duke House"_

_So she was not a child of the Third Duke House, but of the Second? The small girl smiled, making the girl seem even more enchanting in her stark white dress, which matched the white world outside where the sky cried tears of snow and ice. Her face was sweet, like dolls, and her eyes went to me as she accepted the men's apologies. _

_Her eyes were curious, but sad as she watched us walk away, my body covered in cuts and bruises beneath the red satin robe. _

_Because the girl was cursed, she could not be accepted in this high society._

_She would always be their dog, ready to take out the dirt on their otherwise spotless reputation._

_They entered a high ceilinged room, and the girl shuddered in anticipation of her job, an act she didn't want to commit. _

_She wanted to dirty her hands no longer._

_A man with a salt and pepper head stepped forward from behind his desk, brushing his hand through his short beard as he stared at the small girl before him. His clothes were rich and made by the best Taylor's, and he smelled of expensive cologne as he kneeled down so that his dark-brown eyes were at the same level as her violet ones._

"_You _do _know what you're here for, correct? You know what you have to do?"_

_The girl nodded painfully, wanting to run at the thought of what she had to do._

_The man put on a small smile, and stood up again. He moved behind his desk and opened a crafted wooden drawer, taking out a silver, glinting dagger with a red ruby at its hilt. He stared back at the girl, giving her a pointed look as he came out from behind the desk again._

_When he reached the young girl, he held the dagger at is blade, letting it cut a bit into his fingers. A bit of scarlet blood dirtied the blade, sliding over its pointed surface as his eyes met hers again._

_He held out the blade, with the hilt in her direction._

"_It won't take long, and you can go back to serving your beloved Loki-sama. But for now, you have a job to do. Your target is Fujimoto Akira, age 28, brown hair and brown eyes, member of the Fourth Duke house; he's staying in the Manor not too far out of Requiem city. You know what to do"_

_She bit her lip, hating herself as she took the hilt of the dagger in her small, pale hands. She was only six, but the madness had consumed her life so much that she had unwillingly grown into this kind of person. She had no choice but to follow their wishes, and her scarlet satin robe swirled as she turned, walking out of the room with empty eyes._

_Her eyes reflected the snow around her when she arrived at the Manor and fed the dagger with fresh crimson blood, the snow already dyed in the malicious colour. The man's eyes were empty, and the sight of him killed her inside._

_She had no choice, and her hands were now dirtied with the blood of others. _

_Her heart felt soulless. _

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

"Kurami-chan… Kurami-chan!"

I shook my head, forcing the crimson out of my eyes as I tried to forget the memory. My heart was aching, and I felt sick as I turned to Sakura, hoping that my eyes weren't as red as the man's blood.

"I'm alright" I tried to smile, but I could feel my lips turn into more of a grimace. Her emerald eyes were staring at me with concern and panic as I pushed her hands away, saying that I could support myself now. I turned, seeing the glowing figure behind us with long, golden hair. She smiled sadly, her eyes giving me a fleeting look before her eyes rested on Sakura's.

"_I have been waiting_" she smiled; her long white and gold dress swished and swirled in a non-existent breeze. She was truly an ethereal being, a soul trapped in the reality because of a wish to remain, in her case, to protect the feather.

I listened intently to her story as she told us about her life three hundred years ago, about how a mysterious magical feather was bestowed upon the castle, and about the wars that were cause by its strong power, and how many lost their lives trying to obtain the feather. The King and Queen lost their lives in this fight and as punishment for their crimes the children of the town became plagued by riots, and when near the feather they would become their normal selves. That was when the Princess decided to gather the children of the town inside of the castle, and when they returned to normal she brought them back to their families.

She tried her hardest to stop conflicts from beginning about the feather, and a magician of that time sealed the feather away inside of the ice pillar. And her soul returned to this world when the children were in danger once more, this time by another person who wished to obtain the feather.

The wishes of a cold hearted man had caused so much pain in this village, and no one could do anything to stop that person.

"_In order to obtain the feather, the children of this town were gathered for their pure hearts in order to release the feather. You must also join them to reclaim your feather_"

Sakura stepped forward to join the children, but I hung back in shame knowing that my heart was not pure, having lost my innocence through the years, if not long ago. The golden haired princess turned to me, her face smiling even though her eyes looked sad.

"_You do not feel as you once had_" she stated, watching me shift where I stood. Her gaze prickled the back of my neck, and it felt like she was string right through me as I frowned.

"Isn't it normal to change… especially when you learn more about yourself?"

She nodded, but a worried look crossed her eyes.

"_Yes… but what has been has already been, it does not summarise who you are now. That girl was another person, not who you are in this dream. We are attached in a way that others will not understand, and I know what others will not. There will be others who see inside your heart, whether it be another akin to me, or a person in the flesh. You mustn't let your heart freeze over_"

I could only watch as the feather began to glow like the sun, like Sakura's smile, and I didn't get another chance to talk to the deceased Princess.

The icy piece at the top where Sakura's feather was located broke off, and the piece of crystal floated down to Sakura, the owner of the feather.

She hesitated.

"It belongs to you" I urged her, giving her a real smile as she turned back to her memory fragment.

She held it close to her chest, and I sighed with relief.

Finally, another feather.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

It was a lot easier to run now that I had no long skirts, and it was easy for me to keep up with Princess Emeraude as she showed us the way out of the castle. Sakura was finding it a bit difficult, and I had grabbed onto her hand so that she could keep up, which was difficult for her since, unlike me, she had a long dress.

The Princess disappeared up ahead, and I ran faster so that we could reach her once more. But when I turned right, I felt something hard hit my body, and I fell back from the sudden impact. Sakura, who had been holding onto my hand, had also fallen, and as we looked up to see what we had hit, I scowled.

Dr Kyle.

"Sakura-san, Kurami-san! Thank goodness you are both safe." He had a look of concern and relief on his face, but I knew it was only a mask he was using to try and trick Sakura.

I jumped in front of the desert Princess, giving the man one of my most deadly glares. He dared to play this kind of game with us? What a prick…

"Stay away from her" I growled, slapping away his outstretched hand.

He smirked, rubbing his hand where I had hit him.

"It seems that you haven't learnt a lesson from last time. You really are pitiful; I suppose I'll have to teach you again"

I pushed Sakura away, telling her to follow the sounds of running feet. I was surprised to see that Dr Kyle had let her get away, but scowled when he launched himself at me, holding a pair of chains in his gloved hands.

I blocked him using both of my arms as a shield, to find that he had wrapped a chain around my body when I had instinctively closed my eyes at the impact. It was just a second, but it was long enough for him to bind me with another set of chains. He pushed me to the floor, and I couldn't move as he ran after Sakura with another chain in his hands, dragging me with him.

Princess Emeraude appeared again, looking worried and scared at my bound body.

But she couldn't do anything, she was dead. She no longer had a vessel that she could use to try and stop anything in this material world.

It didn't take long for him to catch up to the desert Princess, and he dragging Sakura by her foot as he neared the same place once more. I was struggling to break free from the chains, but once again the man had outsmarted me.

He held both of our chains with an iron grip, and I growled at him when he reinforced mine. The sound of running footsteps neared, and I panicked when I saw that everyone was here, even the town's people. They all glared at Dr Kyle, but he only smirked as he brandished a gun and held it to Sakura's head.

"Give me the feather" he ordered, using the same cold and menacing voice as to our previous meeting. It made me shiver, remembering my stolen kiss.

"No!" Sakura hugged the feather to her chest, and tried to push him away when he placed the pistol even closer to her caramel locks. He had no right to hurt her…

"Just back off and stop causing trouble here. You don't need that feather and you know it!" I yelled at him.

He turned to me with a smirk on his face; the kind which really pissed me off. I tried to shingle out of the chains again, but still with no luck.

"You really didn't learn your lessons well, do you?"

He knelt down, but kept his gun firmly in place beside Sakura's head. His lips were close to my ear as he said this, and I shivered remembering what he had done to it the night before.

He wouldn't… would he?

He bit onto the still raw injury, and I couldn't stop myself from letting out a small scream when the blood began to flow again from the reopened wound. Oh yes, he _would. _

"You… bastard…"

He stepped away, and licked at the blood on his lips with satisfaction, an action which made my eyes widen with disgust.

"You could say that…"

Syaoran rushed forward, ignoring the bullet as it grazed his shoulder, and swiftly pushed Dr Kyle away from us. He grabbed onto Sakura, keeping her safe when it looked like Dr Kyle was about to shoot again. I was grateful, and now with the chains out of his iron grip, I was able to untangle myself from the metal bonds, letting them clang to the floor in triumph.

The ceiling began to shake, and I used the distraction to kick the gun out of his hand and into the water surrounding our feet, causing a mild splash which sent water-drops in all directions. I quickly knelt to get it, making sure that no one had seen the action in my haste.

The castle was beginning to crumble as the gates that kept back the rushing moat broke, and water was spilling from the walls whilst the ceilings and walls crumbled away. A giant piece of the ceiling split our group apart, and I was now on one side with Syaoran, Sakura and Kyle, whilst Kurogane, Mokona and Fai were with the villagers by an archway.

"Please go on ahead!" Syaoran yelled over to the others, telling them that we would be able to find another way out.

Easier said than done, Syaoran…

The others agreed, and swiftly fled the scene whilst they could, taking the children with them.

"Come on, Kurami-chan!" They called, but I shook my head, turning to look at Kyle as he stood alone, a look of resentment and shock on his face.

"I'll find my own way out. For now, just focus on getting yourselves out of this mess"

"What do you plan to do?" Syaoran asked, staring at me with panic in his eyes. He really was too nice…

I winked and gave them a simple smile. "I've got a score to settle with the four eyes*"

The castle was breaking away even more, and the two were forced to leave me behind in pursuit of their own escape. I turned to Kyle, smirking as I stepped closer to the man as he stood still in the centre of the wreckage.

"Seems like I'll be teaching _you _a lesson now, nee?"

I raised the gun I had collected before and ran forward, using the speed that I was famous for to try and win this fight. The man looked surprised, but was able to only just dodge as I tried to kick him, making him almost tumble when he slipped on a piece of rubble.

My smirk didn't disappear when he raised a dagger, and instead shot rounds of bullets in his direction. He dodged most of them, except for one which imbedded itself in his right leg. He groaned in pain but did not topple, and I grew anxious when I saw the damage that the bullets were causing on the already crumbling room. There really was no time to fight in this kind of environment.

I had to end this… now.

I parried a blow, and using my speed I was able to jump over his shoulder without him even knowing. I kicked out his legs from beneath him, and he crumbled like the room, falling prey to my attack and the slippery surface of the floor.

I stood above him with my gun in hand, and used my foot to grind the area where the bullet had hit him. His right leg was now soaked in his crimson blood, dying his clothes the colour of death. He screamed in pain, but I did not let up.

This bastard…

The look in his eyes was terrifying. The pupils had turned into pinpoints and the cold, icy-blue colour took over most of his eyes. They were clouded in fear and pain and almost looked empty, like the eyes of the man in my memories.

They almost matched, both with empty or almost empty eyes, and blood pooling around them. The water around his body was tinged red with the blood from his right leg, having already spread past his blood splattered trousers. I shook my head.

I can't be like her… I can't be like the girl in my memories. She didn't want to kill, and neither do I.

I took the gun, and shot him one more time in the other leg for good measure. I winced as I saw his face contort in pain, but I couldn't let him off so easily for defeating me.

He had bitten me twice on the same ear, after all. I was just returning the favour.

…with bullets.

I threw the gun away, and pulled the man forward using his shirt. I looked at him in the eyes, and tried to reassure him with a smile (even if it was fake…). Even if I hated his guts.

"I won't kill you, I can't interfere. But tell your _Master _this. The minute he goes over the line, so do we. That is the deal, everything must be in balance. Be prepared"

I let go of his shirt, and let his body drop into the pool of water. I didn't turn around to see his face as I left, I didn't want to. My own dress was slightly coated with his crimson blood, but I tried to ignore that as I walked away into the wreckage.

The man would have to find his _own _way out of this place. And I knew he would, even with bullets lodged into his legs.

Now the question is: How do I get _myself _out?

All around me things were crumbling, the ceiling, the walls, and they blocked every passageway I tried to get out through, everywhere was a dead-end. I couldn't find Syaoran or Sakura, and even if I did, that meant we were _all _trapped.

I stopped, and tried to calm myself down. If they weren't here it meant that they were safe, and Kurogane and Fai had left with the towns folk.

I had to get myself out. They were waiting for me.

I touched my earing, feeling a jolt of electricity past between it and my fingertips. Was now the time? Did I have any other options?

I had to use magic, and that meant taking off the earing. It meant letting myself be exposed.

_That means unveiling the crown… _

But I couldn't die here, not yet.

_If you only had so much time, would you wish for more?_

I grasped the earing, and gently undid the piece at the back. The earing opened up like a cuff, and the minute the earing left my skin, I felt a large jolt of power swell up inside my soul, sending electricity throughout my aching body. The power washed over my flesh like a new skin, weaving an intricate web as it healed all of my wounds without leaving as much as a spark in its wake.

The blue crown floated, the points moving up and down in different lengths as it glowed like an angel's halo above my raven head. The crown was a brilliant light blue, and was completely made up of some type of powerful light. It was beautiful, as I had been told by Yūko not long after the first time I had arrived at the shop.

It was more of a symbol than anything else, but it was a dead give-away to any who had magic. And the fact that the seal was off meant that the one on my back wasn't strong enough to conceal my presence. If I didn't wear both, then I would become easily readable to any with eyes, especially to those with magic.

If Fai was being attentive, he'd be able to feel it.

I seriously hoped that he was busy talking to Kurogane or something, or even better, knocked out because of a falling piece of rock. But my luck is a bit of a rotten asshole, so I didn't keep my hopes up in light of these events.

I held the cylinder with black marks close to my ear so that I could put it back on quickly, and used my other hand to summon the right kind of magic to get me out of here.

I felt the air around the hallway changed, and I focused on the light breeze around me, using the energy as a medium for the spell.

"半分の存在のための輸送 (Hanbun no sonzai no tame no yusō)"

I quickly placed the earing back onto my ear, knowing that I would have no other chances after the sparks began. The magic was instant, and I found myself being eaten by the floor beneath me, like quicksand, until I was completely submerged within my own spell.

Everything was black, and I was falling in endless darkness. But the moment I felt myself drop, it ended and the world around me transformed from a black abyss into a deep blue colour, swishing around me like a whirl pool as the magic settled and all of the oxygen turned into traitorous bubbles that escaped from my enclosure. I was now fully submerged in water without the magical whirlpool and oxygen.

Everything was so dark; I wasn't sure whether I was swimming up or down. Everything became this black twilight world, and I was painfully reminded of a similar situation in the Lake Country. I was stuck in limbo, and I wasn't sure whether the current was going to take me to the gates of Heaven or Hell.

The strong water was tearing me apart, I could hardly kick my legs or move my arms without feeling the currents seize my limbs and force me back and forth. I was begging for air, I couldn't breathe down here in the murky deep. There was no light, nothing that could even show me the way to the surface. There was no guiding star beyond the horizon…

Water was going in through my mouth and nose, making me gag.

Was there no end to my torment? It feels like the moment something goes right for once, something bad happens _twice _to try and destroy my hope.

My head was feeling light, and my lungs felt like they were about to burst.

I felt something grab onto my wrist, but I could see nothing in this darkness. Whoever it was, was trying to pull me to the surface, a feat which I thought was impossible with these speeding rapids. But things were getting brighter; I could see the moon in the sky. I also saw a dark blue sleeve and the faint trace of something silvery in the water.

I couldn't stay away any longer, and I was losing consciousness before my head even reached the surface. But it was enough; I knew that I would eventually wake up. I _had _to wake up.

I swore that I wouldn't let myself die before _that time_ comes, or it all would have been for null and void.

The golden haired Princess crossed my mind once, her eyes slightly sad as she stared back from beyond the waterfall of light.

_Don't disappear…_

I lost myself to the darkness beyond my eyelids as my head broke through the water. For me, there was only one thing left.

The warmth in my hand as someone held it, pulling me towards the light.

Pulling me towards the sun where everyone else was.

_ _ _ _ _ BREAK _ _ _ _ _

**A/N Thanks for reading, and make sure to leave a review.**

**The words in Japanese mean "Transportation for the presence of half." It's more of a statement than a spell, but you can view it either way. Four eyes just means glass wearing nerd, or something like that.**

**I am in need of some ideas for Piffle World, any ideas? I might have her bond with the Tomoyo of that world, but I'm not sure about anything else yet. If you have any ideas, please share~**

**-Maximum Dusk**


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